Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen
by Mei1105
Summary: Judy LaBaron's maths homework has to wait for the night - her best friend's sixteenth birthday is far more important! But things get complicated when they accidentally upset a bunch of dark elves. Part of the Shadowchasers series, by Cyber Commander.
1. Chapter 1: Doesn't Ring A Bell

**A/N:** Welcome readers, to another of my hijackings! This time I'm playing in the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom, but a very specific corner of it. Specifically, Cyber Commander's Shadowchasers series (thanks for letting me play in you sandbox, CC!). If you're unfamiliar with the series, please look them up, although I have tried my hardest to make this story accessible for first timers too.

I also need to thank 7th Librarian and Scarlet Weather for holding both my hands while I wrote, and making sure that I didn't break anything fragile in this sandbox.

This story takes place not long after Soulscape.

Don't think there's much else to say, except read on and enjoy!

* * *

 **Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen  
by Mei1105**

 **Chapter 1: Doesn't Ring A Bell**

If you stared at a page for long enough, the words turned fuzzy, as though they had grown mould to match the decay in your mind.

In a small dormitory in a private boarding school on the outskirts of London, Judy LaBaron was about to find out if the fuzzy words could move on their own.

She had been trying to fathom the equation for the past thirty five minutes, but try as she might, her brain just did not want to engage with it in the same way that it had with the rest of the questions. Taking a break was becoming more appealing by the second, but she hated leaving a task unfinished, especially when she was so close...

The first bracket of the equation was starting to wriggle when the sound of pounding techno filled the room. All of her nerves sprang to life, and she whacked her knee hard on the underside of the desk, drawing a thick line down the page with her fountain pen.

" _Ienai kikenai mienai maboroshi dake, toki no mukougawa e…"_

Cursing her clumsiness, she scrabbled for the source. Her phone was buried under several textbooks and a stack of answer sheets. If she could just find it before it stopped ringing...

"Hello?"

The voice that answered was purposefully low and sing-song.

"Juuudy Juuudy, give me your answer dooo…"

A forehead to the desk would have been a logical response to such a greeting – but Judy's desk was covered in homework, and ink marks were not attractive on one's face. She settled for sighing down the phone instead, and hunting through her pencil case for the ink eraser.

"One day Emily, you'll be able to say 'hello' in a manner that doesn't frighten small children."

A peal of malicious giggles erupted on the other end. Someone had been giving the Librarian's apprentice sugar.

"Lucky for me then, you are neither small, nor a child, Scales. And you love my evil greetings – they spice up your day."

The accidental line of ink vanished. With a resigned note, Judy pushed the answer sheet away and leaned back in her seat. She was terribly glad that the dorm room was otherwise unoccupied. "As much as I love your brand of spice, I am up to my neck in equations right now."

"You are aware that it's Friday, right?" Emily interrupted. "You have two whole days to be up to your neck in equations. On the other hand, it's only going to be my sixteenth birthday for another…seven and a half hours."

Blinking, Judy felt something very heavy and cold sink into her stomach – guilt. And it had nothing to do with homework.

"So, we – that's the Royal We – are going out to have some fun! And if I have to prise you away from your desk with a crowbar, then I will!"

Guilt at having forgotten her friend's birthday warred with the knowledge that she had a lot to do this weekend. Now that the first round of GCSE papers were out of the way, the teachers were keen to keep the momentum going until the bulk of the exams in June. And that was not counting any Shadowchasers related training that cropped up during the weekend…

"I really really _really_ shouldn't Em..."

There was a knock at the door. Judy's frown was instantly replaced by an exasperated huff. Even if she hadn't sensed the unique aura in the corridor, _nobody_ knocked on the door of a shared dorm room.

Leaving her phone on her desk, she got up, and strode to the door in three brisk strides. Unperturbed by the way she yanked it open, Emily Foxblade grinned, her phone still plastered to her ear. She wasn't exactly intimidating at five feet, with a pixie cut, and a novelty oversized sixteenth birthday badge pinned to her waistcoat. But there was something about her smile that made you not want to leave her alone with small children...they might get ideas.

"You're assuming I'm giving you a choice in the matter," she greeted, pointedly hanging up the connection. "Consider this a kidnapping, Scales!"

"How the hell did you get up here?" Judy spluttered. The school wasn't exactly built to the same security standards that the House of Parliament were, but teachers were always vigilant against people sneaking into the dorms, and every entrance and fire exit had CCTV.

"I have magical powers," Emily wriggled her fingers like she was trying to untangle them from a ball of string, before pointing to the figure on her left. "And Anna's very good at picking locks."

The aforementioned friend stood just a step behind Emily, sliding a slightly twisted hairpin back into her fringe. Miki, the third musketeer, was holding the handbags, and gave Judy a sheepish smile that only one who has an eccentric best friend can manage.

"Nice to meet you Judy. We're sorry for barging in."

"Speak for yourself!" Emily said, breezing past the half dragon, despite the fact that no invitation had been given. "Ladies, find our kidnap victim some clothes! It's the fastidiously tidy wardrobe over there!"

"Okay, who uses the word 'fastidious' outside of Mr Dalton's classroom?" Anna demanded, following her friend's lead, and marching straight for the wardrobe. Miki loitered uncertainly in the doorway. "Just say 'tidy' like a normal person."

Emily beamed. "We can't all be as erudite and acculturated as me. Now chop chop! Judy needs clothes that aren't school uniform! We're meeting the others in an hour, and you know what a bitch the Underground is during rush hour."

Sure enough, Anna was looking the aforementioned school uniform up and down, and she quickly pulled a face. "Jesus! And I thought ours was bad! Don't worry dear, I'll find some jeans and make the nasty tartan go away!"

She dove into the wardrobe like a fabric-seeking magpie, and a flurry of garments began to sail through the air. Amused as Emily was almost concussed by a flying boot, Judy began to pack away her books with only the tiniest twinge of guilt. Her friend was right – she wasn't getting equations done any faster by waiting for the letters and numbers to begin making sense. She had a whole weekend, and unlike her classmates, she did not require seven hours of sleep to function normally.

"That is a lot of homework," Miki pointed out, kindly. "Don't feel obligated because Emily likes to get her way."

"Shut up, it's my birthday!" Emily retorted, but she peered anxiously over at Judy anyway, a silent question hanging in the air. She was being rather rude, barging in after all.

Judy let her squirm for a few seconds before shrugging and tossing Emily her pencil case.

"Eh. It's not going anywhere. By all means, kidnap me." She eyed the birthday girl with a smirk. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"It's not a kidnapping anymore if you consent to it," Emily reminded her. "And it certainly wasn't my idea to break into Jalal's office last time…or the time before that."

"Hmm…" wisely Judy did not reply, because it _had_ been her idea. Instead she grabbed the jeans that Anna had tossed at her head (thankfully not the pair with the Orc blood stain). "And I suppose you'll be wanting a birthday present too, as well as a kidnapping?"

"Well now that you mention it, yes that would be lovely!"

OOO

As they walked from the Underground stop to the restaurant, Judy reflected that she really didn't take advantage of living in London.

At six pm on a Friday, the city was positively heaving with life and excitement, a strange mix of harassed commuters hitting the trains, while tourists and young people flooded in to start their weekends in the best possible way. The black taxis were gridlocked down the street, and Emily came very close to being knocked over by one as she forgot to look left and right before crossing.

"You can't run me over!" she bellowed at the furious driver, jabbing a finger at the dinner-plate sized badge on her chest. "It's my birthday!"

She was getting far too fond of that excuse.

In spite of Emily's grandiose gestures and statements, Judy quickly realised that they were doing what any self respecting British teenagers did when they had something to celebrate - they headed for the nearest Nandos, and promptly snagged a table for six. The cheerful restaurant was busy, but at this time of the evening, it was not late enough for it to be heaving yet.

"I…" Emily declared grandly, parking herself in one of the chairs with a thump. "Have never been to Disneyland!"

Anna gave an astonished and horrified gasp that would have been better suited to finding out that someone was dead. Even Miki looked surprised. "Never?"

Emily shrugged, pleased that her revelation was causing some drama in their little game (the non-alcoholic version of I Never had been successful at breaking the ice while on the Underground). "Never. But, if I do well in my GCSEs, Harriet has agreed to take me this summer."

"I had no idea," Judy was surprised - even _she_ had done Disneyland. "If I'd known I'd have taken you with me! We could have done the rollercoasters together…" she paused with a mischievous expression. "You're over a hundred and forty centimetres tall, right?"

"Don't make me stab you with my fork, dear," Emily warned, squeaking as Anna bent awkwardly over the chair, wrapped her arms around the birthday girl's neck and began to pet her.

"You poor deprived little soul. Your childhood has been robbed..."

Judy exchanged a look with Miki and the two of them started to laugh as Anna accidentally stroked Emily's glasses off with a flick of her fingers, sending them clattering off the table edge and into her lap. The birthday girl shoved her into the booth before retrieving them. "Okay Judy, your turn!"

Sliding into the booth, Judy thought for a moment. "I have never dyed my hair."

"You _what?!"_ Anna exclaimed in disbelief. Judy was quickly learning that Anna rarely did things in half measures - that included expressing herself. Several people in the restaurant had turned to look, and one waiter had almost dropped a bowl of salad in fright at the sudden noise.

"You're totally not messing with me?" Anna demanded, squinting at Judy's hastily thrown together ponytail as though it contained the secret to life, the universe and everything. The half dragon shrugged.

"No messing. It's totally natural. I haven't gone near dye ever."

Something had clearly stalled in Anna's brain, for she made no attempts to pick up the menu. Leaning over, Miki began to prod at the base of her skull.

"Reboot failing," she quipped. "Now switching to dial up."

"Seriously, how do you even _get_ that sort of silvery blondeness?" Anna spluttered, as her brain came back online. "I didn't even know there were genes for that!"

"How much attention do you actually pay in biology?" Emily swiftly deflected the question, pointing at her with her phone. "I mean attention that you don't spend staring at Steve Harper's butt?"

"Hey!" the distraction worked, and Anna immediately stuck her tongue out at the birthday girl. "I totally pay attention in biology! I need that class!" she threw up her hands. "Man! How do all my friends get the really cool hair? Judy's silver, you're all red Em-"

"It's auburn," Emily corrected, not looking up from her text message.

"I don't have really cool hair," Miki reminded her. "Mine is just black."

"Oh puh-lease!" Anna objected. "In the right light, you go midnight blue - I've seen it in the cinema. And I'm stuck with dead rat."

She huffed at her fringe, which was already coming loose from the twisted hairpin.

It took Judy a moment to notice that she was smiling. She had friends - other Shadowchasers, and a few people at school that she was on good terms with - but it was rare for her to be in a group of peers, and not be discussing schoolwork, dangerous Shadowkind, or the end of the world. Emily was her closest friend, but usually when they hung out, they ended up causing trouble in the Library or Jalal's office. To do something chilled, was a nice change from their usual brand of mayhem.

Emily railroaded the game by giving a squeak and waving a hand frantically across the restaurant. Two newcomers - one male and one female - were approaching, the former with a huge cake box under his arm.

"No present darling, but I brought dessert!"

"Oh Mike, you rock so hard!" Emily restrained herself from hugging him until after he had put the precious box down on the table. Judy took a moment to peek inquisitively under the lid, with Anna and Miki also peering over like curious parrots. From what she could see, there was a lot of chocolate buttercream, and some very detailed piping around the edge.

"Mmm bugger the chicken, I'll just sit in a corner with this on my lap," she muttered. "And...y'know...guard it…"

"Only if I get to come with you and lick the icing," Anna put in.

"Hmm...that didn't sound like a euphemism at all," Miki muttered. "You two should present Bake Off." All three of them snorted.

"Okay, Judy," Emily somehow managed to pull Judy's attention away from the cake, as she waved at the newcomers. "This is Mike, the maker of amazing cakes."

Being British, both of them shook hands, but because he'd already endeared himself to her with said amazing cake, Judy gave him a grin. He beamed back with extremely white teeth, before squeezing into the booth next to Anna.

"And this is Becky," Emily continued. "She's the one who orchestrated that giant chalk drawing in the playground last year."

Judy remembered the photos of said chalk drawing in all its swirling, psychedelic magnificence, however all thoughts of it evaporated as she took in the final member of their party. On the surface, Becky looked like any sixteen year old. But it was the way she paused for just a fraction too long as her gaze met Judy's, her eyes widening slightly, before giving a tiny shake of her head, that made the half dragon sit up and take notice.

"Sorry," Becky blinked hard, before rubbing the back of her neck as if to ward off a cold draft. "I zoned there for a moment. Nice to meet you."

She shook her hand with a smile as Mike had, but there was no mistaking what Judy had noticed. As Becky took one of the stools on the other side of the table, Judy locked eyes with Emily, knowing that both of them were thinking the same thing.

 _Aware._

Anna was praising Mike for his cake, and Miki and Becky appeared to be swapping chemistry notes from earlier that day. The timing could not have been better. Knowing that she might not get this chance again, Judy yanked Emily closer to her and hid their faces behind one of the large menus.

"Did you know?" she hissed.

"I had no clue!" Emily sounded like someone had just yanked a carpet out from underneath her. "Where would I have noticed? There's no Shadows in our school...definitely not in our year group at least."

They both spared quick glances over the top of the cardboard, like a pair of incompetent henchmen in a bad spy movie. On the surface, Becky seemed to be behaving normally, but you could never be certain...she might just be very good at pretending that everything was fine.

"I should really talk to her about this," Judy said. Aware humans were rare, and the Shadowchasers needed all the help they could get. If there was even the slightest possibility that Becky could be involved, it had to be investigated.

"Yeah...can you do it after my party though?" dropping the menu, Emily pouted with the air of someone who practiced the motion often. "I want my chicken before we get into magical drama."

Judy rolled her eyes, but Emily was probably right. She certainly couldn't explain it with everyone else around. "Whatever you say, Bookworm."

"Oi, that's _Birthday_ Bookworm to you, Scales," Emily retorted, both of them breaking into grins.

"Okay, I have to ask," Anna interrupted, her finger paused on the menu somewhere over the salads. "Why Bookworm and Scales? I've been wondering that ever since I added you both on Facebook."

 _Because I'm half dragon, and she's heir to a magical Library_ , Judy thought dryly. Oh yes - that would go over _so_ well with a group of humans.

"Because she's obsessed with dragons," Emily lied smoothly. "And I mean obsessed in the same way that Mike is obsessed with Jack Atlas."

A dazed grin slid onto Mike's face. "He's dreamy…"

"...okay maybe not _quite_ the same way…" Emily conceded.

"Yeah, and when I first met her," Judy jabbed a finger at the girl in question. "She was reading a book on second wave feminism that was about six inches thick."

"Oh it wasn't _that_ bad-"

"Are you kidding? It made JK Rowling look concise!"

"You can't call it excessive until it's heavier than _War and Peace!_ Those are the rules...that I just made up…"

The others at the table stared at them. "What's... _War and Peace_ and is there a movie?" Anna asked innocently.

Miki headdesked. "It hurts me. It physically hurts me," she groaned, causing everyone to chuckle.

"You _can_ physically hurt someone with _War and Peace_ actually," Emily put in thoughtfully. Judy could not help it - she burst out laughing.

"That was hysterical! I didn't know that a demon could actually vomit...or it had so many teeth to lose." Judy smiled at the memory and then blinked as everyone else at the table was staring at her.

"Oh. Dungeons and Dragons game we played once with my teacher. Was a lot of fun!" Emily said quickly, before adding. "Wasn't that the one where Harriet showed up midway through and started hitting things with her cricket bat?"

"That wasn't fun!" Judy protested, remembering the real life incident in question. "She almost took my head off!"

"She'd never met you before - she thought you might have been a cultist."

"...what's Dungeons and Dragons? Is that a video game?" Anna asked with a blank look and then cracked up as Miki gave another groan and Emily banged her head into the table. "Ooh, this is fun! Do I get double points if I make brain cells come out of your nose?"

"New rule - no damaging birthday girl's brain cells!" Emily protested, before scooping up a menu and rising. "I don't have many to lose!"

"But you have enough to remember the events of your D&D games, perfectly?" Miki pointed out.

"Those are important!" Emily stated, sliding her way out of the booth. "As is food. I'm going to order. I require chicken, cake and presents...not necessarily in that order."

"You have presence - we're all sitting here, enthralled by your majestic presence," Becky smiled, and ducked onto the floor as a menu was thrown at her head. "Ow! My dignity!"

Curious, as everyone filed out of the booth, Judy offered Becky a hand and a friendly smile. The girl eyed her warily for just a moment before accepting.

 _Well that settles it_ the half dragon thought to herself. _Definitely Aware_. She was going to have to let Jalal know, but there was no huge rush. Whatever Becky was seeing, she seemed to have mastered being discreet about it - the British disdain for making a scene was probably responsible for that.

She was so focused on Becky that she almost missed it. There was nobody waiting at the bar, but as the party approached from the left hand side of the restaurant, another group of four were approaching from the right, heading directly on a collision course.

Judy cursed her lack of observation. She should have registered them the second she had entered the restaurant. She could be forgiven for dismissing their tall, slender frames, and skin that was just a shade or two darker than Becky's, but how the hell had she missed the pointy ears? Some future Shadowchaser she was turning out to be!

Her mind raced - what on Earth were a group of drow doing on the surface? It wasn't daylight any longer, but they were almost permanently subterranean. Her eyes immediately gravitated to the lone female at the head of the group - she was almost certainly the boss of them. There was no telling how many years old she was, but if Judy had to guess, she did not think she could be more than a teenager by elf standards. That would certainly explain her need for three bodyguards.

"No Mike." Emily was throwing her hands into the air, as she swung herself up to the till, just ahead of the group of dark elves - the leader's jaw dropped open, and her hands were thrown up in disgust as Emily continued talking without stopping. "We're not getting a wing roulette. It only ends in tears when Anna gets the extra hot."

"I told you, I wasn't crying!" Anna was protesting. "A bug flew in my eye!"

"You stuck your mouth under the frozen yoghurt machine."

A sharp clearing of the throat interrupted the argument. Emily turned, finally registering the dark elves, and Judy watched as her eyes widened in recognition, before narrowing quickly in response to what was bound to be a challenge.

"I don't know if you missed this, being so short and all," the female leader had a piercing voice, which had no trouble getting the attention of all the party members. Her three lackeys flanked her like pretty statues (Judy had yet to meet an ugly elf and she was not entirely certain that such a thing even existed). "But we were here first!"

Predictably, Emily had started swelling as soon as the dreaded S word had been mentioned. Judy casually placed both hands on her friend's shoulders before she could explode. Other reactions were mixed. Miki and Mike looked as though they were about to apologise, while Anna rolled her eyes and huffed loudly. But Becky was the one Judy found most interesting. She was outright staring at the group - particularly the female leader, whose ears were perfectly visible in front of her shoulder length hair.

Knowing that she only had seconds before Emily flipped her lid, Judy quickly steered the shorter teen out of the way by the shoulders, and adopted her most sickly sweet smile.

"Oh please, heaven forefend that we stand in the way of your grandiose sense of entitlement," she waved an arm in a manner that was just a little shy of full on sarcasm. "Go right ahead."

She gave a half mocking bow, and Emily's irritation seemed to drain as she filled with amusement at Judy's eloquently worded passive aggressiveness. Nose in the air, the female leader stalked past, her three lackeys pushing after her. The party group drew back behind them, Judy dusting off her hands as they went. They were not fast enough however, to miss the muttered insult.

" _Bloody half grown Clueless humans,"_ the leader hissed in her native language.

There went the neighbourhood. Judy mentally cursed, as Emily whirled towards them, her eyes blazing.

" _Watch your fucking language, lady!"_ she snarled back in the same tongue. The reactions were predictable - all four members swung round in surprise, thoughts of food clearly forgotten, to the confusion of the poor servers behind the till.

"What the hell did you just say to me?!" the female elf pushed past her lackeys to get a good look at the ones insulting her. Her eyes flicked over the group, trying to discern just how many of them were actually a threat. They lingered on Emily and Becky, and remained longest on Judy, trying to distinguish just exactly what she was.

"You heard her," Judy snapped, feeling that she had better come to the defence of her friend. "Queue barging is bad enough, but you do _not_ use language like that! Have you no sense of respect?"

She could see Anna and Miki out of the corner of her eye, exchanging curious glances. The latter shrugged - they were both lost. The leading lady meanwhile pushed her way right up to Judy, towering over her with her arms folded.

"Offer respect to the likes of you?" the disgust was practically dripping off the taller woman's voice. "Puh-lease! I am Mora Ravenswood."

There was a pause. Mike's mobile gave a series of cricket chirrups, and he hastily switched it to vibrate.

"Doesn't ring a bell. Sorry," Judy shrugged. Emily meanwhile, tossed her hair.

"Yeah? Well I am Emily Foxblade. I am also birthday girl tonight. And right now, I am also taking our place in the queue back. Shove over, bitch."

She made to barge past her, but Mora's lackeys were apparently not just for show – the tallest one of them shoved her right back into Becky's waiting arms. A new tension flooded Judy's limbs – the kind that spoiled for a fight.

"Maybe you are the ones who should learn respect for your betters," Mora suggested, her face smug at Emily's growing fury. "I am matron of the London drow-"

"Bollocks you are!" Judy started laughing, and Emily was not far behind. She did not know every important Shadowkind member in the UK yet (indeed, she hadn't even been aware that there was a community of drow living in London), but Mora was far too young to be leading anyone. Behind her, the rest of their Mundane party just looked confused – Miki had pulled out her phone and was apparently trying to google a rational answer.

Mora's fury was travelling up her face like a wave rolling in to the shore. The restaurant staff had clearly become alarmed by the quickly escalating volley of insults, and a single middle aged man hustled out from behind the bar. The only thing that distinguished him from the rest of his colleagues, was that he wore a collared shirt instead of a t-shirt, and the word 'manager' was printed above his name.

"Ladies, I don't know what's going on here," he interrupted, positioning himself between the two feuding women. "But either you order some food, or I'm going to have to ask you to take your fight outside."

Judy suspected, with the temperature hovering somewhere around freezing, that nobody was prepared to take this outside. The entire restaurant seemed to be hanging on every insult traded. Judy mentally groaned - so much for the British disdain for making a scene...

"Oh no we don't!" Mora was glaring at the manager, even though her statement was clearly intended for the girls. "I'm not going anywhere until I get an apology." She gave Emily an especially nasty look. "And I want that one giving it on her knees for calling me a bitch!"

"Yes, and I want a bathtub made out of chocolate and filled with raspberries," Judy shrugged. "We all have dreams we're never going to be able to obtain."

"Listen you half-breed-"

"No, you listen!" Judy cut her off, her eyes flashing. By her side, Emily growled. "We were here first, but we kindly let you go ahead, even though you were rude enough to call my friend short. You then insult us in another language, and have the audacity to believe that we wouldn't notice. If anyone should be saying sorry, it's you - because I can tell you now, you're not getting anything remotely resembling an apology from us!"

"Can't we just drop it, and go get our food?" Miki whined, hopefully.

"Hell no, it's like watching two stags banging their antlers together," Anna muttered, observing the whole scene like she would a football match.

"Besides," Becky put in. "We're British. Queue barging is more abominable than murder here!"

"Then I suppose I'll have to extract it another way," Mora growled, apparently unimpressed by how unintimidated the group appeared to be. The restaurant manager jumped in again.

"I won't have any fighting-"

"I didn't say anything about fighting," Mora sneered at him with such disdain that he backed off. " _Though watching the Clueless cower would be entertaining-"_

" _Just try it,"_ Judy responded in the same language, a dangerous snarl on her lips. " _We'll see how long it takes the Shadowchasers to arrest you. I wager they wouldn't even break a sweat!"_

Mora snorted, and reverted back to English.

"We'll settle this insult here and now," she snapped her fingers, and one of the silent lackeys produced a duel disk (apparently out of his arse, as Judy could see no visible pockets or bags).

"Of course," Emily rolled her eyes. "Because duelling solves all our problems…"

Ignoring her friend's snark, Judy folded her arms. "So we win, and you apologise to us?"

"Oh come on Scales, you're aiming too low," Emily's exasperation had shifted abruptly into one of calculated mischief. "I say they apologise, and pay for dinner for all six of us! And dessert!"

"But I brought ca-" Mike began, but as five sets of eyes landed on him with pointed looks, his eyes widened and he nodded. "Oh right. Gotcha."

"Fine by me!" Mora smirked. "And if we win, the same stakes will apply. An apology and dinner for my table." She leaned forwards. "And you can be certain that I'll make it a big one."

"We're six growing teenagers," Becky deadpanned. "You cannot possibly eat more than us." She paused, as she pretended to eye up Mora's waistline. "Although…"

"Okay!" Judy swiftly put in, seeing that Mora was about to slap somebody (probably Becky) around the face. "Let's just duel before this turns into a chicken eating contest. Now how do we decide who's playing?"

They ended up in a four way round of Rock Paper Scissors, with Judy as the victor (and Emily sulking that Water Balloon was totally a legit choice). Miki and Becky pocketed their own decks with shrugs, before returning to the table. The restaurant had enough floor space to serve as a duelling field, even though it meant that Judy and Mora had to stand on tables. The other patrons abandoned their own meals, leaning forward in anticipation as both participants switched on their disks.

"Ready to lose, girl?" Mora's anger had been drained away, replaced by supreme confidence. That more than anything, made Judy more determined than ever to knock her off her table.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

"Duel!"

 **Life Points**

Judy: 8000

Mora: 8000

"Come on Judy!" Anna hollered. It made Judy inexplicably pleased that she had only known Emily's friends for an hour, and they were already rooting for her.

"Yeah, gelato for everyone when you win!" Emily reminded her. "And it'll all be on her!"

Mora spared the group a glare before drawing her sixth card.

"Since I am clearly in the right, I will go first." She eyed up her hand and smirked, pulling two cards free.

"I set two cards facedown."

The holograms appeared on cue, each about the size of a small table.

"And I summon my Phantom Gryphon in attack mode!"

The beast appeared with a screech and a flap of wings that sent menus flying across the tables. It gave a low growl in its throat as it observed Judy (2000/0).

The half-dragon lifted an eyebrow. " _Interesting."_ she thought. _"Possibly a really tough beatdown deck."_

Mora waved her on with a dismissive shrug, and Judy drew with a grin.

" _But nothing I can't handle."_

"How about a proper opening move?" Judy said, plugging in a spell card. "I activate Trade-In. I'll ditch one of my level eight monsters to draw two cards."

She did so, and beamed.

"Well this won't last long," she stated. "I activate Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!"

The restaurant's decor changed in a flash, the pillars turning into white marble, with vines creeping down them. Royal curtains fluttered in a non existent breeze, and a white stone throne rose up next to the restaurant bar.

"Oooo shiny!" Becky cooed.

"I wondered which deck she was using," Emily folded her arms and smirked. "Ooh Mora is so going to get it."

"Oh the little girl uses fairies," Mora drawled. "What a surprise. Do you still believe in Santa Claus too?"

Over in a corner table, a pair of six year old boys went pale at the statement. Judy glared at her.

"Well why don't we see how far believing in fairies gets me? I use Valhalla's effect to summon Athena to the field!"

Light pierced its way into the field, dying down to reveal the warrior angel. Her long white dress rippled out behind her, and her shield caught the dim restaurant lights with a sparkle (2600/800).

"Still waiting to be impressed," Mora casually examined her nails.

"I didn't say I was finished, thank you," Judy pointed out. "I activate Celestial Transformation. So now Darklord Superbia joins the field, with only half his stats."

By Athena's side, the oddly shaped fairy appeared, it's wings sweeping wide before drawing back in as it shrunk down with its power loss (2900/2400 - 1450/1200).

"That's not a fairy," Mora deadpanned. "It's a vase with wings."

Said vase with wings glared at her. Across the field, Phantom Gryphon swept its own, considerably more impressive wings wide. Athena also seemed to take offence, her shield glowing like a small sun and energy blasting across the field to slam into the dark elf.

"Oh yeah," Judy added, almost carelessly. "Since I special summoned a fairy, Athena docks you six hundred life points."

 **Life Points**

Judy: 8000

Mora: 7400

"You thought that hurt me?" Mora challenged. "I've felt worse from the five year olds in my clan!"

"Well that doesn't speak highly of your skills if you're getting beaten by five year olds," Becky pointed out from the side lines.

"Silence!" Mora raged. "Or I'll see to it that you're next!"

"There won't be a next," Judy interrupted. "I didn't say I was done. I use Athena's effect to send my Darklord to the graveyard."

The oddly shaped fairy vanished.

"So what?" Mora shrugged.

"So now, Athena's effect states that when I send a fairy to the graveyard with her effect, I can bring one back to the field to replace it. So Superbia is coming straight back at full strength!"

The odd fairy appeared again, this time double the size it had been last time, it's wings stretching from one side of the field to the other. The curtains of Valhalla ruffled from a stray wingbeat (2900/2400).

"And because that was a special summon," Judy continued. "Athena's effect kicks in again, dealing you another six hundred points of damage!"

Another blast rocketed across the field. Once again, Mora brushed it off, but her eyes had narrowed into a concerned frown this time.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 8000

Mora: 6800

"Now what's next?" Judy asked thoughtfully. "Oh yes - _more_ fairies! Thanks to Superbia's effect, when he's special summoned from the graveyard, I get to bring out another monster! So why don't I bring Darklord Zerato to the party?"

It was hard to call the new monster a fairy with a straight face - with horns and a wicked serrated blade, he looked more like a demon. Still he gave the other two a nod of respect, before settling down next to them (2800/2300).

"And that was another special summon, so Athena - do your thing!"

This time, Mora let out a stream of curses in elvish as the strike hit her full in the chest.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 8000

Mora: 6200

"Wow...she's really good!" Miki whistled. "I call dibs on the next game!"

"Aww!" Becky sulked.

"Are you finished yet?!" Mora snarled.

"Don't be daft," Judy snorted. "You still have life points left - I activate the spell card, Anti-Magic Arrows! Now neither of us can activate spells or traps."

The colour in Mora's face drained instantly. "For how long?!"

"Oh just from the start of the battle phase until the end phase of this turn," Judy said, her grin turning positively evil. "So I really hope you weren't counting on those facedown cards to save you, because now I move into my battle phase with Zerato first - take out that Gryphon!"

The winged beast had just enough time to shriek and cover its eyes with its wings before the fairy descended, serrated blade cleaving straight down the middle of the monster.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 8000

Mora: 5400

"Athena, Superbia!" Judy waved a hand down the empty field. "Show her why we do believe in fairies! Attack!"

Athena was first, her sceptre glowing like a sun before releasing a wave of energy that crashed across the field. Superbia followed up with a ball of glowing dark energy that pierced through the wave and crashed into Mora painfully. The dark elf lost her footing and slipped over the back of the table, ending up sprawled over the booth.

"Okay, _now_ I am done," Judy announced. "And so are you!"

 **Life Points**

Judy: 8000

Mora: 0

The birthday group erupted into cheers, while the rest of the restaurant politely applauded as Judy switched off her duel disk. The holograms flickered and faded from view, as she gave her audience a bow, and jumped off the table. She was quickly swallowed up by her enthusiastic best friend.

"That was so cool!" Emily gave another squeeze, before pulling back to bounce on the spot. "Oooh I was hoping you'd use your Valhalla deck! You've souped it up since we last duelled!"

"Can't believe it was all over in two turns," Mike said, shaking his head. "That was waaay too short."

"Yeah don't expect an easy ride if you duel me," Miki put in, with a grin.

"Never," pocketing her deck, Judy grinned. It was nice to feel appreciated in a group of friends. "Now wasn't there some kind of bribery involving free gelato?"

All of them turned towards the other end of the field...only to find Mora and her three lackeys were conspicuously absent. The door to the restaurant was slowly drifting shut, allowing a small gust of icy wind to penetrate the room.

"They took off!" Emily threw her hands up in disgust. "How dare she?!"

"Well I'm not surprised," Anna scoffed. "I mean that _was_ embarrassing."

"We had a deal!" fury was coursing through Judy. She'd had one of her best hands in a long time, and got to pull it off flawlessly, only for the sulky loser to bail. She was beyond insulted. "That's just...rude!"

"Want to go track them down?" Anna suggested. Sighing heavily, and feeling her irritation escape between her teeth, Judy shook her head.

"No, it's not worth it." She did not want to mention that a cornered and embarrassed dark elf would probably be dangerous. "Let's just order dinner and get back to celebrating. We've already wasted more than enough time on them."

"Aww but I wanted free gelato," Emily pouted, but seemed to accept the situation, as they headed back to the counter.

"What about presents?" Becky suggested. "Will that make up for the gelato?"

"But I was getting those anyway-"

"I'm pretty sure I smelt Lush products in one of them."

"You always know just what to say, Becks!"

OOO

"Damn her!" in a narrow side street some distance away, Mora kicked out at a recycling bin. Her lackeys loitered at the entrance, keeping an eye out while their boss blew off some steam. Seeing that she had not even dented the green plastic, Mora chose to take out her frustrations on something far more damageable.

"Beaten by a half-breed brat - using fairies no less!" she simmered, yanking out her deck and glaring at the cards. Phantom Gryphon was on top, and a crease appeared down the lamination as she gripped it at both ends. "I should have known better than to put faith in you!"

A pair of hands grasped hers and squeezed. Mora glared.

"Let me go, Bright!"

"Take a deep breath," the tallest of her accomplices was eyeing her with his usual steadfast gaze. He was not easily fooled or ruled by emotions - that was why Mora kept him around as a bodyguard. As always, that gaze reached deep into hers. "You are better than this."

Hissing through her teeth, Mora yanked her hands away, but she made no move to tear up her cards again. Instead she slammed both fists into the top of the wheelie bin. Once again, the plastic only bent with the force, before springing back into place. Panting with exertion, she turned and eyed up her bodyguards, lined up against the wall like a series of statues - small, medium and large.

"I am not going to stand for this," she snarled.

"I should hope not," a new voice cut curtly through the alley. "That was embarrassing, even for you."

Mora's three bodyguards immediately dropped their gaze and lowered their heads in respect. By contrast, Mora's head snapped up to stare in disbelief at the figure lounging by the fire escape.

"Mum?"

Dressed in a flattering black business suit, Maureen Ravenswood peered over narrow glasses at her daughter (Mora knew that she did not need them – she just thought that they made her look more intimidating). "I'm glad that you realise the extent of the insult that has been paid to you, even if your attempt to get even was such a disaster."

Mora's face flushed. "What are you doing up here? You never come to the surface! And how did you know about the duel? You weren't in the restaurant!"

"I don't need eyes to see, daughter of mine," ignoring the first question, the matriarch rose, her heels clicking on the frosty concrete. She did not look old enough to have an almost grown daughter. The only concession to age that she had allowed her body to display were the strands of silver that streaked through her white hair. "Nor do I need them to hear you telling rather large fibs. What was that about you being matron of the London dark elves?"

Mora's gaze finally dropped under the piercing look from her mother. "It's not technically a lie. We are the ruling house-"

"Of which I am the leader," Maureen interrupted, her voice as icy as the chill in the air. "You would do well to remember that. Whatever gifts or talents you may have acquired lately, I am still your matron. You are nowhere near close."

The last statement was dripping in disdain. Mora clenched her jaw. "I was trying to intimidate them."

"With a blatant lie," the elder cut her off again, sharply. "And an insult to your mother. You shame me, all of our family before us, and the entire clan, coming up to the surface like this, and losing to humans."

Each word seemed to stack up like a jenga tower, until finally, Mora's rage sent it toppling.

"Well maybe I should stay up here!" she spat, her eyes blazing as they lifted to face her mother. "Save you the embarrassment, and the energy. I'd _hate_ for you to exhaust yourself on my behalf, _matron_!"

A crack rang down the alley, and a single tear was flung from Mora's eye, landing softly in the snow. Against the wall, Bright's body tensed, but he knew better than to approach, and reluctantly slid back into place against the wall. Maureen rubbed her palms together, and the redness began to vanish from the right one.

"I did not raise you to speak to your betters that way," the matriarch's voice was level, but anger rumbled just beneath the surface. "I raised you to do as I say, and all you have managed to do so far in life is disappoint me."

Mora's cheekbone was pink where she had been struck, but she made no move to soothe it.

"Challenging them was a stupid mistake in the first place," Maureen all but towered over her daughter now. "They were brats, not Shadowchasers – you had no reason to give them a fair fight. And you will not give them a reason this time."

She grabbed her daughter's chin, and forced her eyes to lock with hers.

"If you want to start being of use, then you can wipe out tonight's insult - properly this time."

"And how would do you suggest I do that?" Mora asked. Seeing her mother's eyes narrow, she added in a slightly more respectful tone. "Matron."

The pressure on her chin lifted slightly, but she was still locked into place by that look.

"Bring them down to our level. Then we will see how well they fair in the darkness of the pit."

OOO

" _Am out late with Emily. Something's come up. Might need you to come down to central London tomorrow."_

" _Oh dear - what have you two done now? Do I need to tell Adrian? How much property damage is there?"_

" _Very funny. I'm splitting my sides. One of Emily's friends is Aware."_

" _You want me to come down and help you explain?"_

" _Interrupt your double date? Hell no! She will take it better from two peers than a strange man. Em and I have got this. You can come down tomorrow if she shows any further interest."_

" _It's not a double date - it's a business meeting. But point taken. See you tomorrow. Enjoy Captain America."_

Judy had not bothered to reply to the text, knowing that it would be pointless to ask Jalal to stop tracking her phone. Instead she had resolved to put it out of her mind until the end of the movie.

Now, as she, Emily and Becky found a small round table in Starbucks, half an hour before closing time, she wondered if it wouldn't have been simpler to ask Jalal to come down after all. Anna, Miki and Mike had all headed home, so there was no chance of odd looks, but when faced with explaining something as enormous as this, Judy was at a loss where to even begin.

"Okay," Becky got comfortable, shedding her hoodie and wrapping her hands around her latte. "What's so important that I postponed my tube ride home?"

Still not certain where to start, Judy's mind remained unhelpfully blank. Luckily, Emily had no such mental block.

"People with pointy ears," she said bluntly. Becky's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"You saw that?" she demanded. Emily nodded.

"Yup. Kind of hard to miss. Oh and the way you totally froze up when you first saw Judy, like she was the most gorgeous person in the room."

Judy swore she could feel the heat coming off Becky's face. "She was not! I mean-" she blushed deeper as she realised what she had said. "I mean not that you're not good looking, but I didn't freeze up! Oh Emily!" She swatted her sniggering friend in the shoulder.

"It's okay," Judy decided to put her out of her misery. "I get that a lot from Awares. And don't tease her, Emily. We're trying to get her to believe us, not kill her with embarrassment."

The birthday girl stuck her tongue out and began spooning the cream off her frappuchino with her straw.

"Awares?" Becky leaned forward slightly in her seat. Judy took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her tea for courage.

"It's like this, Becky. Y'know all the monsters you read about in fantasy stories? Werewolves, vampires, orcs, etcetera?"

"Yeeees…" Becky was eyeing her warily now, but not, Judy noticed, with fear. Rather a cautiousness, as if she sensed that she was about to learn something life changing.

"They're all real," Emily finished.

There was a long pause at the table. Becky stared, first at Emily, then at Judy, taking in their serious expressions, perhaps waiting for a smile to give one of them away. After ten seconds of silence, she lifted her latte and took a long sip. The mug was set back down with a heavy thud, and she swallowed thickly.

"Okay."

Judy's eyebrows lifted. "That's it?" She had been expecting more resistance, but Becky just shrugged.

"After the night we've had, I'm in a believing sort of mood," she said. "If this is a prank you have nothing to gain from it. And if you're just crazy, then that means Emily and I are crazy too, since we're seeing the same pointy ears. Since I have no desire to get myself sectioned, I'm going to believe that we aren't crazy and you're telling the truth."

She took another long sip. Judy met Emily's eyes. "I like her." She declared.

"So you should do!" Emily beamed. "She's cool."

"So why does nobody else know about this?" Becky asked, swallowing and wincing as the coffee burned her throat.

Judy leaned back in her seat. "When humans are children they know about it. Or at least, they can see it. But as you grow up, your parents tell you that it's just in your head, or your teachers tell you to stop making up stories, and you just mentally start to pixelate it out. By the time you're a teenager, most people have lost the ability to see. We call this self-inflicted blindness, the veil, or sometimes the masquerade."

A surprising amount of colour drained from Becky's face.

"But sometimes people don't develop it," Emily picked up, as Judy took a sip of her own drink to ease the dryness in her throat. "Or they don't develop it completely. For whatever reason, some people can still see through the veil, even a little bit. Some people just get a funny _off_ feeling when they come into contact with certain people. We call people like that Sensitive."

"And people who are...seeing fangs or extra eyes?" Becky asked, nervously.

"Awares," Emily bobbed her head. "Awares can see everything clear as day, and the veil has no effect on them. Since you could see Mora's ears with no problem, that's what you are. Your mind doesn't even try to blank out what you're seeing - it just accepts it."

There was another silence. Becky let out a long breath, and took another sip of coffee.

"Okay...by people who are a little bit _off_ , I'm assuming you mean you two?"

"Yup," Judy nodded. "Emily's nickname for me is literal rather than affectionate."

"Well no," Emily corrected. "It's both. I mean you are adorable after all."

"So Scales…?" Becky gestured for an explanation.

"Dragon," Judy filled in. "Well, half. My father was a dragon, and my mother was human. All of these mythical creatures I just mentioned are known collectively as Shadows. Obviously, sometimes they crossbreed with humans. We're known as Shadow-touched."

Becky snapped her fingers. "That's why Mora was calling you half-breed. I wondered what that was about! I'm guessing you don't breathe fire or anything - though you definitely looked close when she was insulting you…"

Judy laughed. "No fire. I'm a steel dragon. Which means I'm tough as nails."

"Okay, so you're a dragon," Becky said slowly. "And, what about you, Em? I mean I've got used to it after five years of being at school with you, but I got the _off_ feeling from you on our first day in year seven."

"Really?" Emily's eyebrows arched. "Interesting. You're right, I'm a bit different, but I'm not a Shadow. In the simplest possible terms, I'm a dimension hopper, and in this world, that just classes me as an Aware human by default. I can see Shadows, no problem."

"Okay…" Becky repeated. "So you're a dimension hopper, you're half dragon...and I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say that Mora is an elf?"

"Close," Judy nodded. "Mora is a drow - also known as a dark elf. It's not racist," she assured, seeing Becky's jaw drop in indignation. "Elves and dark elves are separate species, in the same way that modern humans and neanderthals are."

"Although it must be said, they both tend to have equally enormous egos," Emily put in, sucking down more of her drink with a slurp. "As you saw in Nandos...owww! Brain freeze!"

She rubbed frantically at the bridge of her nose.

"Wow…" Becky took another sip of her coffee.

"I'm guessing that we're not the first people you've had _off_ feelings about, in your life?" Judy probed. "Hence why you're taking this so well."

Becky shrugged. "Like you said, I'd noticed things before, but I just tried to chalk them up to a trick of the light, or people wearing cosplay. They nagged me, but I had no other explanation for them. What you've said at least makes sense of all those things. And as I said, I don't think you'd lie."

"Not that I'm complaining, but why not?" Emily pointed out, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's a logical assumption, and you've seen me lie loads of times."

Becky snorted. "You lie, Emily. But you lie about why your homework is late, and how Natalie got orange paint in her hair. You don't lie about important stuff like this."

Emily muttered something that sounded like "she had it coming" before drowning her complaints in frappuchino. She wailed weakly as pain shot through her head again. Judy snorted into her tea.

"Still…" Becky conceded. "Wow. Who'd have known?"

"The ultimate question. So when did you first start noticing it?" Emily asked, sipping cautiously at her frappuchino again. Becky stirred her latte with a shrug, but Judy could not help but notice that her other hand was twisting the fabric of her jeans into a ball.

"I don't really know," she said, pulling out the stick and sucking the foam from the end. "As I said, I just started seeing things from time to time and didn't really know what to make of them. I didn't want to say anything - people would think I'm crazy."

Emily snorted. "Who isn't these days?"

"You aren't crazy," Judy stated with certainty, folding a napkin in half. "But you are lying."

Becky's eyes snapped up to her. "Excuse me?"

Judy had a grim smile. "People 'notice' little things all the time, and they instantly dismiss them. That's how the veil works. You don't register that something's wrong unless it means something to you - something very important."

She made another fold across the napkin. "What happened, Becky? What did you see that was so important that your eyes have never closed to the out of ordinary again?"

It was like magic. The gauntlet was thrown, and Becky instantly began to shrink in on herself. Her hands came to clench together in her lap, and she seemed to retreat as far back as the hard wooden chair would allow her.

"No one has ever asked about that," she stated.

"Because they thought you were crazy?" Judy guessed.

"I'm not crazy!" Becky's eyes flashed.

"We know," Emily seemed to have realised now that this was more serious than it had originally seemed, and her voice had lost all playfulness. "But other people didn't know?"

Becky snorted. "They thought I was having nightmares. Or I was homesick - we'd just moved from South Africa."

Judy leaned back in her seat, and did her best to appear non-threatening. Aside from needing this information, she got a sense that Becky really needed to tell this story. "How old were you?"

"Three," Becky's eyes dropped to her lap, watching her fingers twist the ball of denim tighter until it was pinching her skin. Emily helpfully gave her the paper wrapper from her straw, and she began to fiddle with that instead.

"We moved to a terraced house in Hounslow, so Mum and Dad could be near work. It was a nice place. Seemed safe enough..." Her lower lip caught between her teeth before she continued. "About two days after we moved in, I woke up in the middle of the night. I could hear movement. At first I thought it was Andi - it was a two bedroom house, so I shared with her."

Judy felt an unpleasant taste in her mouth. "Let me guess - it wasn't Andi?"

Becky shook her head. "She was asleep in her cot. I got scared then. I kept hearing it – that horrible squeak like someone scratching their nails down plastic. And heavy breathing. I couldn't work out where it was coming from. Thought my heart was going to give me away - it was beating so hard...then I looked at the window."

"It looked like a man," she was staring at the table, but her gaze seemed to be going much further than the coffee rings. "But it couldn't have been. A normal man would have fallen off that window ledge. He was just crouched on it, scraping his fingers around the edge of the seal - I guess he was looking for weaknesses. Then he started pushing and pulling at it."

"He looked up and saw me - I think I must have moved. Tried to back away, or something. Anyway, he looked at me. I just froze. He was just staring...everything looked grey and dark outside, but I could see his eyes. They were red. And when he licked his lips, I could see teeth…that was when I started screaming. And then Andi woke up and she started crying."

She did not look too far away from crying herself. In her fingers, the wrapper was a line of knots. "Mum came running, but he was gone. Soon as I started making noise, he jumped off the window ledge. Mum checked outside the window, then put Andi back to bed. She let me sleep with her and Dad for the rest of the night…" she chewed her lip. "I didn't sleep. Not for a second."

"Don't blame you," Emily admitted. Judy had a sneaking suspicion though.

"Did he come back?" she asked.

Becky's eyes darted up. "Every night." She admitted in a whisper. Judy felt her throat clench in sympathy, and Emily swore softly.

"After a week, Dad finally got the curtains up," Becky continued. "But I could still hear him. Every night, he'd test the window, and then when he couldn't get in, he just sat there, staring right through the fabric." Her voice was thick. "I used to drive myself mad - kept wondering what he wanted, or whether I'd done something to make him pay attention. I started worrying that he was following me when I was out with Mum, or that he was waiting in the wardrobe, or under Andi's cot...I couldn't sleep. I thought for sure that one day he'd work out a way around the lock and come for me…"

She gave a laugh that was almost hysterical. "Mum and Dad was so anxious when we finally moved, a year later. They thought another new house would make me worse than ever. They thought I was crying because I was scared. I wasn't. I was so fucking _relieved_ , you have no idea…" she hiccupped, and wrapped her hands around her mug. "I got my own bedroom in the new house, and it was the best sleep I'd ever had."

An odd mixture of laughter and sobs were smothered in one arm. Emily helpfully handed a tissue over.

"Red eyes and fangs…" she said thoughtfully, looking at Judy. "What do you think? Vampire?"

"Probably," the half dragon agreed with a nod. "One who stuck close to his territory, since he didn't follow the family once they left. I'll file a report with Jalal later - he'll probably want to let Dracula know at the very least."

"Dracula?!" Becky squeaked in terror, emerging from her arms with wide pink eyes.

"It's okay," Judy soothed, reaching over the table and squeezing one of her shaking hands. "Dracula's...well she's not harmless-"

Emily made a noise reminiscent of a cat with flu having its tail trod on. "She's fucking nuts! I love her! Aww I should have invited her tonight! It was dark by six! She'd have been fine!"

"- but she's no threat to you," Judy concluded, seeing that Emily's enthusiastic statement was having the opposite effect on Becky. "Vampires have a lot of restrictions under the Great Treaty, which means they aren't supposed to harm humans. They're certainly not supposed to stalk them in the middle of the night, and traumatise them! What you had was probably a rogue. Trust me, when Dracula finds out, she's going to be really pissed. She doesn't like that sort of thing happening on her watch."

She didn't seem quite brave enough to emerge just yet, so Judy pushed Becky's latte into her hands. The trembling in her fingers stopped as they wrapped around the warm ceramic.

"Okay…" that seemed to be becoming Becky's word of the day when she wanted to process big information. "So vampires...elves and dragons are all called Shadows...and people like me and Emily are Aware humans. Think I've got that. So how many Shadows are there? And how many people are Aware?"

Judy blew a sharp breath out between her teeth. "There are large groups of different Shadows scattered all around the world. There are far fewer Aware humans. It's a pretty rare trait. There are about five hundred Aware humans in the Shadowchasers worldwide, plus the handful of Awares who don't join us. Jalal probably knows. Hang on, I'll shoot him a text."

"What's a Shadowchaser?" Becky asked. Judy grinned.

"A Shadowchaser is what I am. Or, what I'm training to be," she amended. "Think of us as magical police. The Shadowchasers began in about 1000AD, and our purpose has pretty much been the same since then - to protect humans from Shadows who would seek to do them harm, and to protect Shadows from humans or other Shadows who wish to exploit them."

"And five hundred people manage this?" Becky stated in disbelief. "For the entire world?"

"Well, five hundred and change," Judy corrected. "Because not every Shadowchaser is an Aware human. We've got a decent number of Shadows and Shadow-touched on staff to. And in any case, it's not like we're tripping over vampires and werewolves and stuff in public. They tend to keep to themselves. Some avoid humans completely. So we don't need armies of Shadowchasers to keep the peace."

She frowned and began to tick off her fingers. "Discounting the HQ, which is located in Yorkshire, there's one permanent team of three Shadowchasers here in London, and five roaming Shadowchasers covering the UK – one of them is based in Manchester, one in Birmingham, one in Cardiff, one in Edinburgh and another in Belfast, but they take problems from all over the country, not just those cities."

"Eight Shadowchasers for the whole UK?" Becky asked. Judy did not blame her. It was a monumental task.

"If there's a serious issue," Emily put in helpfully. "They tend to send extras in. It depends on other factors too. Big cities where there are a lot of places for Shadows to blend in, tend to get teams. Los Angeles has a team, for instance, and so does New York, but there's only roaming Shadowchaser covering almost the entire south east of the United States."

"On the other hand," Judy waved a hand in demonstration. "You then get towns like Backwater in Nebraska that have a big team, simply because everyone in that town is Shadowkind, Shadow touched or Aware. And then there are places like Neo Domino in Japan which has a team, simply because for some inexplicable reason, trouble is drawn to that city like a magnet. It depends on a lot of different things."

Emily gave a suspicious cough that sounded like ' _plot convenience'_ before gulping down the last of her frappuchino. Becky seemed to be turning this over in her head.

"So you're part of a group of secret magical police that keep the peace between Shadows and humans?"

"With card games," Emily interjected, grinning. Judy rolled her eyes.

"I should probably mention that as well - we tend to use Duel Monsters as our medium for arresting people. The law says it has to be a fair fight, and...well, guns and magic aren't necessarily fair."

For the first time that night, Becky looked as though she did not believe them. "You capture criminals with Duel Monsters?"

"Hey, don't knock it," Judy said. "It works. It's more complicated than that, obviously, and we do still have physical fights regularly. But I can go into detail another time if you decide to get more involved in this world."

And speaking of getting involved, she thought unlocking her phone, she had better sent that text to Jalal.

"Okay, is this the part where you tell me that I know too much now, and it's in my best interests to join your group of secret police?" Becky asked, swirling the last of her latte around in her cup.

"Ha!" Emily laughed. "No. What you do with this information is totally up to you. I mean, the Shadowchasers would probably love it if you joined, since they're always short staffed, but at the end of the day, it's your choice. You don't even need to choose now - you can't join properly until you're out of full time education. So you've still got two years of A-Levels to look forward to with me!"

"Umm...yay?" Becky asked, arching an eyebrow sceptically, though she looked relieved to hear that she had two years to think about it. "Of course even if I get into sixth form, my A-Levels are totally irrelevant to policing."

Emily snorted. "Judy's signed up for business studies, French, German and psychology - how are those relevant to being a magical policewoman?"

"Hmm…" Judy nodded in agreement staring casually at her phone, but inside her heart was thudding in her chest. "Hey ladies, it's quarter past ten."

"Is it?" Becky looked at her watch, while Emily leaned over and plucked the phone from Judy's grasp to see for herself. "Christ, my Mum is going to kill me."

"That's not my point," Judy said, dropping her voice even lower than before. "This cafe closed at ten o clock."

All three girls exchanged looks.

"So why haven't we been kicked out?" Becky voiced in a whisper.

Behind the empty counter, magic flared through the room, bristling over Judy's senses, and the lights went out with a crack, plunging the entire room into darkness. As the magic crested, Emily was the one who screamed.

"Get down!"

There was a crash of wood being torn into splinters, and then silence.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hooray! First chapter down, seven to go! This was a short duel, but the others will be longer. Don't forget to review and tell me how I did!

 **Shadowchaser** **Files**

 **Emily** **Foxblade** **, the Librarian's Apprentice**

For the most part, the staff of the Library Arcanium can best be described as a reclusive bunch of weirdos, only showing up to assist when you are really truly stuck in your quest.

Perhaps the one exception to this rule however, is Emily Foxblade, the Librarian's Apprentice.

Emily has been living in the Library since she was ten years old, and has been attending a UK comprehensive school in the Shadowchasers world since she was eleven. Emily and Judy's friendship can be attributed solely to Adrian and Jalal. After three hours of chatting about Top Gear, Minecraft and their favourite Supernatural shipping (Dean and Castiel, duh!), the two declared themselves partners in crime and besties for life.

Little is known about Emily's life before the Library, though she is known to be an orphan, and has alluded to previously having older sisters (there are rumours that the oldest one may have murdered Adrian once upon a time, but since the Librarian seems to be in one piece, this is mostly discredited). She has a close relationship with Adrian, Mei, Phoenixia and her guardian, Harriet. For the past year, Adrian has been training her to become the Eighth Librarian upon his retirement.

When not doing schoolwork or following Adrian around in the hopes of learning something, Emily likes to draw and paint. She has claimed several walls in the Library for her artwork (sometimes on canvas, sometimes directly onto the brick). She enjoys video games, but prefers world building and god games to action ones. Emily has no natural magic, save for an inherited ability to generate portals with a snap of her fingers. She prefers to rely on magical technology, and often makes her own weapons. Her current gun is known as Waterstorm and can best be described as a steampunk supersoaker (although it's definitely _not_ filled with anything as harmless as water).

While her surname has remained the same her whole life, Emily possessed a different first name up until she came to live in the Library. It is a closely guarded secret, and anyone who values their limbs, fertility or kidneys, should make no attempt to address her by this name. Ever.

 **Origins:** Emily's character was first created seven years ago, as part of a plotline I wrote for the Anti-Cliché and Mary-Sue Elimination Society. 7th Librarian was also involved in this project, and was responsible for bringing the Library Arcanium and Adrian into the storyline. Since then, Emily has been a central part of the Library and its plotlines, and migrates from story to story depending on what 7th Librarian or I feel like writing next. I enjoy writing her at this age, because it's fun to play with a character who somehow has to juggle supernatural weirdness, and the troubles of being a teenager.

 **Deck:** Emily, unlike her mentor, is not as enthused about using duelling to solve everything. But she does so when occasion demands or she feels her opponent is particularly deserving of some humiliation. Regardless, she tends to favour Machine decks overall. Like her mentor, however, she can use cards that those in the Shadowchaser world would normally not have access to (or haven't yet.) This can include things like more monsters for the VWXYZ series, the new support for Cyber Dragons and Ancient Gear monsters or any other Machine set that could be expanded upon.

As a duelist, Emily prefers a straightforward approach – hit hard, hit often and don't let them get back up. Strategies that take turns to complete or build up to bore her and she much prefers to inflict the maximum amount of damage in the shortest time possible.


	2. Chapter 2: Mind The Gap

**Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen**

 **by Mei1105**

 **Chapter 2: Mind the Gap**

Crouched behind an undamaged table, Judy did not need to adjust her eyes to the light. She could make out the approaching figures with ease. They were tall and leaping over the counter with swiftness. _Dark elves_ she realised, noting the pointed ears, and she cursed herself for thinking that this was over. Apparently Mora had access to a small army when insulted.

Emily's breathing was deep and steady and she lay crumpled on the floor beneath the remains of their table. In comparison, Becky's breathing was tight and quick, as she crouched near to her friend. Only Judy had been quick enough to put decent distance between her and the spell before it had blown up the table.

There were two elves closing in, and her bag, and the sword within, were buried somewhere in the rubble. Becky's eyes found hers through the gloom.

"Stay with Em!" Judy ordered, rising to a stand as the first elf approached Emily's unconscious body. Lashing out with a powerful kick, Judy sent a chair crashing into him. It exploded into pieces around him and he staggered back.

"We missed one!" his companion shouted, but Judy was already there, throwing a punch up at his face. He braced, but to his surprise, the blow lifted him clean off his feet and sent him flying into one of his companions. He had underestimated her strength – they all did, she thought, and her blood began to sing at the prospect of a proper fight.

The third rushed her from the side, but it was ill-timed. She deflected his blow, grabbing his wrist before it went wide and slammed a knee into his gut. He wheezed as all the air was forced out of his lungs, unable to give a yelp of surprise as Judy twisted and flipped him over her shoulder. He collided with his still rising comrade and they went down with painful yelping and tangled limbs.

Strong arms seized her from behind from under her arms, lacing behind her head in a rather painful headlock. "Gotcha now-"

Judy slipped her foot behind his and yanked forwards, letting her weight and momentum do the work as she landed atop him. He groaned in pain, but attempted to restrain her still. He had her in a crushing bear hug, grunting and straining as she struggled against his grip. Across the room, Judy could see another thug approaching Becky, and the girl taking a swipe at him that drew blood from four deep scratches on his face.

Rearing up, Judy slammed her head backwards and felt the telltale 'crunch' of a broken nose. Her attacker howled in surprised agony as she rolled over and with a quick punch to his wind-pipe, left him gurgling blood.

In the next second, she was back on her feet - as were her two previous attackers. They were rushing her, but had to dodge around the tables and chairs to do so. Until one had the clever idea of jumping up over a chair and sprinting across the table for her.

Metal snapped like twigs as Judy kicked out the front two legs of the table. The charging elf lost his balance as the table pitched forwards and her fist to his face sent him sprawling backwards out cold.

The remaining elf was either lucky or stupid as he slammed another table across her body from the back. He had probably been hoping the blow would have knocked her out or at least sent her off-balance. He had seen it work often in movies, after all, and no human could take something like a table to the body and remain unaffected.

He was then completely surprised as Judy's fist punched through the table, seizing him around the throat and with an angered cry, hoisted him and the table into the air. Metal crumpled and bones broke as she slammed them into the floor bits of tile flying free.

There was a hiss like something being squeezed out of a tube, and Judy yelped as her vision was obscured by a thick, viscose substance. It clung to her face, and she staggered back, peeling it slowly away from her eyes. It came away in time for her to block another strike, this time from the man with scratch marks across his face. As the two of them grappled, Judy saw Mora wrestling Becky to the ground, strands of thick, white stickiness materialising in the dark elf's hands and glueing the teen's limbs together.

 _Spider's silk_ Judy realised, mentally tagging a curse onto the end of that sentence. Mora was a priestess, with Lolth's blessing. Becky gave a final shriek as she was completely enveloped in the cocoon, just as Judy broke her opponent's guard, and landed a solid kick between the legs - not a standard martial arts move, but she would take what she could get.

"Hurry up!" Mora shouted, tossing Emily's limp body to one of her two waiting henchmen outside. "Get them down below!"

She whirled to block a chair as Judy tossed it with all her might, but another elf was there first. The projectile shattered on impact with his crossed arms, sending splinters flying everywhere.

"You picked up more friends since the restaurant, Mora!" Judy snapped, already raising another chair. The scratched elf whom she had kicked in the crotch was rising painfully from the ground. She clocked him around the back of the head with it instead. He fell to the ground groaning, and weakly began to crawl away from her.

"And you've lost some!" the dark elf returned, ducking as the chair was blocked again by her bodyguard. The noise was terrible. As two fresh henchmen entered the building, forcing Judy to switch targets, she caught Mora's eyes locking on her own, and widening in sudden understanding. Judy did not need a mirror to know that they had turned to yellow slits.

"Take care of her!" Mora barked at the two henchmen now blocking Judy from taking a straight run at her. "If the little dragon wants her friends back, she'll have to come find us first!"

"You coward!" Judy roared, but Mora and her personal bodyguard, were already fleeing for the exit. The arrogant taunt was still ringing in her ears, in the same way it had mocked them earlier in the restaurant. The idea that they were being targeted for such a petty slight infuriated Judy. She was going to kill this woman! But first she had to deal with the two new henchmen standing in her way.

They moved as a unit, far tighter and swifter than the others had been. She went for the one on the right first, lashing out with a punch to the face. He blocked it easily, and his colleague went in for a kidney strike. She twisted out of the way, but it gave the first one the leverage to swing her body around into a hold. But she was not falling for that again, and she slipped down and out of his grasp, leaving the second man's punch to impact hard in the first man's gut. He doubled over retching.

Rolling back to her feet, Judy seized a half-empty coffee mug and cracked it over the second man's head. He staggered, allowing her to bring her knee up into his jaw. He fell to the ground moaning in agony. The first man was dropped with a swift kick to the kneecaps which Judy then stamped on for good measure, leaving both of them to howl into the cracked tiles.

Mora and her lackeys were gone - and so were Emily and Becky.

Swearing, Judy slammed a fist into the table. It cracked straight down the middle. Shoulders heaving, she felt them shaking as the adrenaline began to wane, replaced instead with a cold fear. She had no idea where they were heading.

 _I need help_ she thought to herself. _I should call Jalal..._

Even as she thought it, realisation hit with a nasty thud. Emily had been holding her phone when they had realised something was amiss, and she had pocketed it as the first of Mora's spells had hit the table. She could not call for help.

 _There's no way I'd have time to find a phone booth_ her thoughts raced. _And even if I did, by the time I explain everything and they get here, it'll be too late. If I lose their trail before they get underground…_

She stopped there. The idea of Emily and Becky being trapped forever beneath the streets of London by a hostile community of drow really did not bear thinking about.

She whirled on the cafe, rage suddenly coursing through her. One henchman was unconscious, two had broken bones, and the one she had kneed in the jaw was weakly crawling for the exit. The others had recovered enough to run away with their boss (though undoubtedly in a lot of pain). Judy seized the latter before he could reach the door, flipping him over and pulling him half off the ground to face her.

"Where are they taking them?" she demanded. The elf glared, his insult muffled with a grimace - she had definitely broken his jaw. Infuriated, she tossed him back on the floor and turned instead to the one whose kneecaps she had taken out not twenty seconds ago.

"Maybe you feel like answering instead," she said, reaching for her bag and pulling out her sword. His eyes went wide at the sight of it. "Where have they taken my friends?"

The man let out a yelp as she rested the blade a scarce inch from one of his fractured bones. "The pit! All humans go to the pit! Our matron's orders!"

"How do I get there?" once upon a time, she might have flinched from how dark her voice was getting. Now she embraced it - her friends had been dragged into her fight, and she would not let anything happen to them. The elf seemed to pause, weighing up if she would really use that sword. Judy tested that theory by pressing the blade flat against the fracture. Guilt surged through her as he screamed.

"Alright! Alright! Head for the tube station!" She relieved the pressure, and he pointed with a shaking hand up the street. "Southbound Piccadilly line."

"Shut your mouth, Torbin!" the third conscious elf, who had been coughing up blood from broken ribs for the last minute, finally gained enough wits to speak, but Judy was not listening. Forcing answers out of him like this was leaving her with a sick feeling in her stomach. Emily had her phone, which contained a tracker - she could use that. There was no need to go any further. The rage inside her tempered slightly, and she backed off, leaving the stricken elf to whimper in pain.

She did not have time for a detailed plan. For now, she just had to do what instinct told her to. Crouching in the debris of their table, she yanked open her bag, and pulled out her deck and duel disk, securing both to her wrist. Her oyster card and a twenty pound note went into her pocket. Her sword went back into her bag which was thrown over one shoulder. Her coat, with her school pass was left on the chair – it would serve as a clue.

Becky's belongings were neatly organised, and she took care not to disturb them as she withdrew the box of cards and the duel disk, and tucked them away safely in her own bag. Finally, she turned to Emily's. Even with the extra dimensions, it was a cluttered mess of birthday presents. Her deck, disk and her favourite gun were buried right beneath the brand new sketchbook, and it took some wrestling to extract them. Wedged between her purse, and Lush gift box, and something that felt like a rubber duck, she finally found the last thing she needed – her friend's iPad, with a direct link to the Library's computers. If this couldn't find her phone, nothing could.

"Please have battery…" Judy muttered to herself, as she crunched through the broken glass, and out into the street, hot on the trail of her missing friends.

OOO

There was blood pounding through Becky's ears. Surely _someone_ must be able to hear it? Surely people could see these elves walking through the centre of London with wriggling cocoons of silvery silk slung over their shoulders? But then she remembered the veil, and she wondered if to everyone else they just looked like labourers carrying sacks of cement. Did it work that way? She felt helplessly ignorant.

Bumping against the shoulder blade of one of their attackers, she could still catch the sounds of traffic and people, followed by the familiar rumbles and sighs of the Underground. It was hot in her cocoon of sticky silk, and panic was rising with every second. She tried once again to squirm, but it was like someone had dipped her in superglue and left her to dry.

Why on earth did elves have spider-related powers, her racing mind thought randomly. This world that Emily and Judy had dragged her into tonight made no sense whatsoever!

The thumping of her body against her captor's bony shoulder had a rhythm now, and she could feel the pull of gravity in her stomach as they descended deeper into the earth. The sounds of the Underground were vanishing. Where on earth were they going? Was this where the elves lived? It made her uneasy to think of a colony of magical creatures living beneath the surface, particularly if, as Emily had indicated, they were all as spiteful as this. How many others had been dragged down here against their will?

The descent levelled out onto the flat again, and she tried fruitlessly to kick once more. The constriction was unbearable, but the creeping panic was even worse. She did not even know if the others had been taken too - or worse, if she was all alone...

The breath burst painfully out of her lungs as she was tossed onto the floor. There was a similar thud nearby.

"There you go," Mora's voice was smug. "Two humans. I even gift wrapped them for you."

Who on earth was Mora talking to, Becky wondered. Some kind of leader? But hadn't she said she was the leader of her group of elves? Had she been lying back in the restaurant?

 _Gee, that's a stretch,_ her brain supplied sarcastically. _Mora lying to you._

A new voice filled the room. Female, well spoken.

"Well, it seems you're not as hopeless at getting even as that duel suggested." There was a clink - possibly of glass on a table - and a long silence. "There's only two - where's the third?"

It was impossible to see through the webbing, but Becky was certain that Mora just shrugged. "She was a bit tougher, so I left Torbin and Elvon to deal with her - I'm pretty sure she's part dragon."

Becky almost slumped in relief - they hadn't got Judy. Not yet at least. But even if she beat them, would she even be able to find them? And clearly something was wrong with Emily - her exuberant friend was far too quiet.

"The one who defeated you so soundly?" the voice questioned. There was a moment of silence. "She can be given as a sacrifice - these two can help dig out the upper levels with the rest of the drudges tomorrow morning. The north tunnel is getting unstable with all those roadworks - maybe they'll learn to respect their betters down there."

Feeling her arm going numb, Becky tried again to wriggle free of her prison. It was just as pointless as it had been before, and she got a sharp kick to the butt for her efforts.

"When the dragon is caught, have Torbin and Elvon bring her straight here," the voice continued. "I need a new sacrifice tonight, but before I do, I would be curious to know who she is."

Not far from Becky's ear, Mora shifted her stance. "She seemed to have some kind of training, but they shouldn't be long. They had her backed into the corner of the café when we left."

Even through her cocoon, Becky could feel the sudden tension descend into the room. There was a creak of a figure rising from a sitting position.

"Cafe?" The curt voice demanded. "You attacked them in the street?"

There was a wariness to Mora's voice - Becky knew it well. It was the same one she used with teachers when she realised too late that she had just let something very important slip. "Yes..."

There was a heavy silence.

"Mora," the leader was not even making an attempt to keep her voice calm, as it slowly grew in volume and fury. "When I said 'bring them down to our level' I meant trick them underground, into our territory - not attack them on the surface! Have you no common sense, girl? Why do we usually take homeless people from the tube stations?"

"Because they're easy targets," in spite of the swiftness of her answer, there was just a hint of a question in there, that indicated Mora was not completely certain where she was going with this.

There was a thud of a fist being slammed into wood.

"No! Because they are in _our_ territory! Because if they walk into our turf and just vanish, we can deny ever having seen them! How easy do you think it's going to be to deny having seen these humans when you've blown up the Costa that they were last seen in?"

"It was a Starbucks," Mora corrected, but her voice was petulant. Becky wished that she could see through her web of silk - she would take a great deal of pleasure from this situation if she could just get a glimpse of the look on the dark elf's face right now.

"Of all the stupid-" the other voice was ranting. "Anyone with half a brain and a shred of awareness will have seen the damage you've caused tonight! Do you realise what you've done? All it will take now is a few Shadowchasers-" there was a click of pacing footsteps. Becky yelped as a pointed toe lashed out into her side, sending her rolling onto her back.

"Get out!" Came the angry voice again. "Fleek, take those two to the cell and stand guard! Kishen, go clean your face, and stop bleeding on my floor! Mora get out of my sight! I don't want to see or hear you until the morning!"

"You're the one who bloody told me to kidnap them! Don't blame me because you couldn't be bothered to explain it properly, Mum!" Mora's voice was angry and reproachful, but Becky did not get to hear the reply, as her feet were grabbed and the unseen elf (presumably Fleek) dragged on her back across the floor towards the door. The two women were still shouting when it closed behind them.

Becky's thoughts raced. Mora's mother was matron of their gang? She supposed that would explain why she seemed to have a phenomenal amount of pride. Even so, that relationship was clearly not a flourishing one, and Becky found herself very grateful suddenly for her own family.

Thinking of them was like having a cold splash of water thrown in her face. She might never see them again if she stayed down here. The thought sobered any pleasure she had felt at hearing Mora's misfortune, and hot tears began to burn in her eyes. She was stuck miles underground, nobody knew they were missing, and Emily was still unconscious, leaving her to deal with this all alone.

She had never understood why people in movies felt the urge to curl up and give in when something bad happened, instead of just setting about right away to fixing it. Now she understood. The cocktail of fear and anxiety was potent, pooling into her stomach, and urging her to just roll into a foetal position to hide her from the inevitable punches. To her shame, as the dragging finally stopped and she was rolled free into a new room, she did just that. A door slammed closed behind her, sending a jolt through her whole body.

Her heart thudded painfully in her chest, and her breathing suddenly felt tighter than ever. There was fresh sweat prickling under her arms and under her nose. The urge to claw her way free of the constricting web was unbearable, but she could not. She had nothing…

Slowly she took a deep breath, and held it there for a count of three before releasing as slowly as she could. Then another one. With the third one, her shaking stopped, and by the tenth one, her heart was slowing to a gentle thump. The counselling sessions she had attended as a child had been ultimately useless at persuading her that the monster on her window had never existed, but they had at least provided her with coping strategies to stave off panic attacks, and she had never been more grateful for them.

 _We're not going to die_ she told herself. _They're dark elves. Not vampires. And they haven't got Judy yet._ _Judy won't leave us down here. And Emily...I'll be with Emily. She only banged her head. She was still breathing in the restaurant. Eventually she'll wake up. I won't be helpless…_

Taking another deep breath, she rolled onto her back, and felt something sharp jab at her thigh. Wriggling a little, she slid one hand into her jeans pocket, and found the culprit - one of the short pencils that they gave away in IKEA. She kept it on her in case she felt a random urge to sketch (or loan to Miki, in case she felt the need to correct someone's grammar).

 _Small victories. One at a time,_ she reminded herself, rolling the pencil around in her hands and stabbing hard at her cocoon of web. For a moment it seemed to resist, stretching like rubber around the lead, before finally splitting to reveal a glimpse of the world beyond.

 _Small victories_ she chanted to herself, remove the pencil and jabbing another hole, an inch away from the first one. _One at a time..._

OOO

The Piccadilly line was the fourth busiest line in the London Underground. Even now, at twenty past ten in the evening, Leicester Square station was packed. Theatre goers lingered on the escalators, chatting happily about the show, and occasionally breaking into strings of a big musical number with their friends. They were cheered and joined by the clusters of rugby fans, who were coming back into the city from Hounslow, high on the rush of England's victory that night in the Six Nations match.

But Judy had no patience for drunken singing or celebrating the fact that England had beaten France again in the rugby. So she charged down the escalator two steps at a time (on the left hand side, less anyone accuse her of ignoring the Underground rules), and with only a quick glance at the directions on the billboards, tore off down the corridor that would take her to the Piccadilly line. Saxophone notes wafted out to greet her. Even at the end of February, with frost on the ground outside, the air in the station was humid.

She still clutched Emily's iPad, having finally bypassed the ten digit pin code by using the emergency settings (AKA, the button that had appeared on the screen with the words " _Press here if Emily has been kidnapped again_ "). The map had confirmed everything that the downed henchman in the cafe had said - Emily (or Judy's phone to be more exact) was somewhere in Leicester Square station, but where exactly was becoming difficult to decipher. Though Emily's tracking tech was top of the range, the phone had gone off the public corridors some time ago, and even the Library's transdimensional technology was struggling to get a signal the deeper underground she got.

Still, Judy had another map to aid her in her treasure hunt.

She had almost run straight past it as she had barrelled into the tube station, but she was trained to register the out of the ordinary. And though the spots of blood glistening on the floor of the station had been tiny, and widely spaced, they were fresh, and Judy would bet all of Jalal's fortune that they belonged to the elf who's face Becky had carved up with her nails before finally being subdued.

The walk felt like miles, but eventually she approached the hallway where the line divided to northbound and southbound. People were running for the platforms around her, and in the brightly coloured pitch under the list of stations, a busker in a huge army surplus jacket was playing the saxophone for coins. She swore as she realised that her blood trail had ended somewhere on the escalator. She could not see the next drop.

"Spare change, love?" the busker asked, hopefully, as she turned in circles, trying desperately to catch a glimpse of red.

"No," Judy tone of boredom that she usually reserved for buskers and the homeless in this city, was tinged with impatience as the panic slowly started to creep back in. A crowd of rugby fans charged past her and ran for the incoming southbound train. They, or any of the travellers out tonight could have easily obliterated the blood trail by now. Or it could simply have started to clot on the elf's face. Judy cursed herself for not getting more detailed instructions from the dark elf before leaving the cafe. Desperately, she checked the iPad, but the signal was so bad this deep down that the map just displayed an error sign as it failed to refresh properly.

"You alright?" the saxophonist seemed bemused by her erratic behaviour,

"No, no I'm not," Judy said honestly, pacing slowly down the southbound corridor, ignoring the theatre posters, and signs warning travellers to mind the gap, and not to get stuck in the doors. "But thank you for asking. You're very kind."

She did not even know if she was being sarcastic any longer.

"Well, y'know," the busker called out after her. "They say kindness pays…" His foot nudged his bag, sending a cascade of coppers jingling in the folds of fabric. Judy barely heard the noise over the roar of the train now pulling into the platform. She was running a hand along the wall, her eyes glued to the floor.

 _There!_ A tiny spot of rusty blood, just hidden by the wall tiles.

"I do requests!" the busker offered, with another nudge of his bag.

" _Don't stop me now_?" Judy asked, running her hands over each individual tile in the wall.

"I do like a bit of Queen," the busker conceded, rubbing a speck of dirt off the end of his saxophone.

He looked up just in time to see Judy press one of the tiles, and push open the hidden door panel in the wall.

"Ooo I love a good secret door," Judy rubbed her hands together, taking a cautious step in. When no alarms shrieked, and nothing exploded in her face, she took another step, allowing the door to close behind her, just before the tidal wave of incoming travellers could come pouring out from the platform.

The astonished busker, blinked hard at the spot where she had vanished.

"Well bugger me," he muttered. "How long's that been there?"

OOO

Emily first became aware of a dull ache spread through her whole body, and she knew that she was in big trouble. She dared not move a muscle, less whoever had done this to her realise that she was awake again. Instead she focused on her own breathing, and branched out the rest of her senses. She could not hear anyone nearby, but you never knew. She was still dressed (which was a relief), still had her glasses (digging uncomfortably into her ear) and something was squished down her cleavage.

 _Judy's phone_ , she thought, vaguely remembering wedging it there as the spell had crashed into her vision. Then her heart began to race. If the spell had hit her, what had happened to the others?

 _Okay,_ she thought to herself, trying to keep as calm as possible. _On a scale of one to that Zumba class Anna dragged us to, how much does this hurt?_

Gently, she pushed her limbs out an inch, and instantly regretted it.

 _Six_ , she concluded with a grimace, as fire lapped down her muscles. Whoever had cast that spell had a powerful kick.

"Emily?" Becky's voice was whispering nearby. She did not sound scared, which was a plus.

"I'm here," the apprentice Librarian groaned. "Please tell me we didn't get drunk and swap underwear again?"

There was a moment of silence, before Becky laughed, clearly remembering that disastrous house party. "No, no alcohol, underwear or questionable acts with traffic cones this time."

Relieved, Emily gently stretched her arms and legs again, before attempting to rise to a sitting position. The pain instantly jumped from a six to an eight, as her head reeled violently, and she sank back down against the floor with a groan. There was noise on her left hand side, and Becky came into view in the dull light. Kneeling beside her, her hands gently eased her flat again.

Two things jumped into Emily's mind which required her immediate attention. Firstly, most of the pain seemed to be coming from the back of her head. A gentle prod with her fingers found blood going tacky in her hair. The second, was that she seemed to be laying on a very sticky white mat, the material of which she could not discern.

"That's a nasty bang on the head," Becky agreed, pulling her chin over and looking at her eyes. "Yeah, I think you're concussed. Best take it easy."

"So no pole vaulting over rivers?" Emily asked.

"No pole vaulting over rivers."

"Damn. And I had a section of the Thames cordoned off and everything…" Taking a deep breath, and trying to steady the dizziness in her body, she focused on the ceiling above her. It wasn't a very interesting one, and appeared to be made out of solid rock - an alarm went off somewhere in the back of her head.

"What happened?"

Pursing her lips and sighing, Becky could only shrug.

"I have no idea. Someone threw light at our table. I think it was a spell – whatever the equivalent of Magic Missiles is in this crazy scenario-"

Emily gave a weak wheeze of laughter.

"You were unconscious," she continued. "Then dark elves appeared. A bunch of them went for Judy, and that lady - Mora - came over and started using magic." She tugged on the white sticky mat. "I think its spider silk."

Emily groaned. "Dark elves worship this spider goddess called Lolth. She's one ugly bitch. If drow worship hard enough, or offer enough sacrifices, or sometimes if Lolth just takes a liking to them, they get given all these powers - blessings - from their goddess. Several other Shadows do something similar with their deities."

She frowned. Her brain felt like it had loose screws after the bang it had taken. "But for Mora to have powers, and be a priestess so young...either she must have done a lot of sacrificing, or Lolth was just feeling generous that day. Still...it's not good for us."

Attempting to lift her head again, the room swam, but it was more manageable than a moment ago. "Tell me everything. I'm just going to try and sit up, real slowly."

She listened. Becky had been paying a decent amount of attention for one who was unaccustomed to situations such as these. She was relieved to hear that Judy had not been dragged along with them - if she knew her best friend, she had probably kicked all their asses, although from the caked blood around Becky's fingernails, she had been no slouch herself. It was a little embarrassing to know that she had been the only one to be knocked unconscious, but as Becky began to describe the confrontation in the chamber, all thoughts of humiliation were pushed from her mind.

"She called her Mum?"

"Yup," Becky was nodding thoughtfully as she spoke. "She said it as I was being dragged out again. They were both raring for a pretty big spat. Mora was furious." She folded her arms. "I have to say though, her mum didn't sound very mum-like. More like a cross between Mrs Gibshaw and Joffrey Baratheon."

Emily shuddered - Mrs Gibshaw was the head of French at their school, and she was universally feared and hated among the students. "Right, think I get the gist. Another thing to know about dark elves is that they're a matriarchal society."

"Really?" Becky asked, one eyebrow lifting curiously. "So it wasn't just Mora and her mother being pretentious? Girl power actually rules down here?"

Emily snorted. "Yeah but it's pretty harsh for the guys. They're basically foot soldiers, manual labourers and obedient little sheep."

There was a pause as she tried to shift herself up another inch. Her back was protesting, but her head was not swimming as much as it had before. Becky chewed her lip thoughtfully.

"She said something about that too," she muttered. "She said Judy would do for a sacrifice tonight, and we were going to go work clearing out the upper tunnels..." she shivered.

"That makes sense. They can't be that big a colony down here," Emily shook her head. "If they were, the Shadowchasers would know about them by now. I reckon from what you told me, they've been taking humans that have blundered into their territory and making them do all the heavy work. They don't have the manpower to make speedy construction progress."

She pulled a face, as the strain began to pull at her neck. "Can you help me up straight? I think I'm okay now."

Becky looped one arm under her shoulder and gently pulled her upright. Emily's head swam, but she remained steady, as she braced herself on her hands. Black spots burst into her vision, but they cleared quickly enough that she could look at their location properly for the first time. The locale was poorly lit – clearly designed for dark elves and their superior night vision rather than human eyes. Her gaze drifted over the pile of blankets in the corner, to the bucket in the other corner, before making their way over to the door. She could not help but snort.

"A cell? With bars? Is this is the IKEA Villainous Hideout collection?" she sneered at the thick iron bars. "Seriously, I've been in two other kidnappings already this month that had this exact layout! Well actually, one kidnapping - the other one I was breaking in-"

She paused, as she registered Becky looking at her incredulously. "...what?"

"...this is your third kidnapping this month?" Becky demanded.

"Well, no," Emily shrugged. "Just the third one with this layout. I've actually been kidnapped-" Her sentence was curtailed at the look of mounting horror on Becky's face. "Oh the kidnappings! Its fine, they happen all the time."

She was really not helping herself, she realised, as her friend gave a strangled laugh.

"And you wanted me to be a part of this world? To take a job where I would consider getting kidnapped every month a routine occurrence? Jesus Christ on a bike, Emily! Do you ever stop and think just how frightening that is to normal people? It's taking pretty much all I have not to freak out over this kidnapping!"

"...and you're doing a marvellous job?" Emily said. There was another noise of incredulity dying in Becky's throat, and the rest was muffled by her arms. Emily was alarmed to see that the other girl was crying.

"Okay, just take a deep breath…" It was rattly, but Becky seemed to comply. Still it took a while for her hysteria to die down.

"I'm sorry," the apprentice Librarian muttered. "I didn't mean to freak you out. I guess I have a different view of what's normal - I mean I live in a library, run by a man who can turn into a cat at will, and our pet goldfish is actually a liopleurodon. It doesn't even occur to me that most people don't have weird stuff happening to them in their daily life...I guess I forgot you're new to this."

She gave a groan that had nothing to do with her head. "Actually, I'm more than sorry, Becks. If we hadn't kept you to explain everything, you wouldn't have been there when they attacked us."

"You didn't ask them to attack us," Becky's voice was muffled by her arm, but the point still got across.

"No, but still," Emily countered. "We could have done this over breakfast tomorrow morning or something. And now that we have been kidnapped, I'm not really putting you at ease by just chillaxing like this is going to solve itself."

She peered through the bars of the cell. They seemed to be close to the door. Standing guard, just inside, was a single elf.

"Guess we should probably start thinking of that. So don't freak out, okay? Judy won't get caught or be sacrificed. That girl is a tank. She'll come down here, hopefully with backup. And even if she doesn't, if I don't check in with the Library in a few hours, they'll assume I've been kidnapped and send help."

Becky's face re-emerged from her arms, no longer panicked, but hopeful. "Still...it wouldn't hurt to try thinking of a way to help them - maybe by getting out of here ourselves?"

"Good plan," Emily agreed, bracing her hands again. "Although if we're going to be going anywhere, I should check that I can actually walk in a straight line…"

Pulling her knees under her body, she leaned forwards to stand. "And for the record," she added. "Shadowchasers don't get kidnapped regularly. That's just me."

Her companion's lips twitched, and she got to her feet, ready to assist.

"...were you being serious? Fish Finger is a liopleurodon?"

Frozen with one leg ready to push her upwards, Emily looked up and laughed.

"Yeah."

"...liopleurodon as in the dinosaur?"

"Actually they're not dinosaurs, they're marine reptiles that lived at the same-" she paused, seeing the look on her friend's face. "Dinosaur, yeah."

With what felt like a monumental heave, she pushed herself into a standing position. The world gave another heady heave beneath her feet, and she stumbled into Becky's waiting arms.

"Okay," closing her eyes and raising a finger thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll just hold onto walls for now..." She blinked slowly, before frowning. "Aww bollocks...Becky?"

"What?"

"I lost my badge!"

OOO

Most teenagers, when grounded by their parents, retreated to their bedroom to sulk, play music loud enough to shake the foundations of the house, and do something to take their mind off the humiliation of being disciplined at their age.

Mora was no exception to this, though she had long grown out of retreating to her bedroom. When her mother was pissed, nowhere was safe. The best she could do was be as close to an exit without actually leaving the underground complex. So she took herself off to the west exit, in the tiny workshop which housed the two D-Wheels, pilfered from captive humans. Maureen had initially shunned the idea of doing anything that humans enjoyed, but Amile, her closest advisor, had talked her around eventually, pointing out to her that if Shadowchasers came calling, the Fair Fight clause was an advantage that they should be able to use if needed. Maureen had conceded, and all four of her advisors, and her daughter, could now duel. Mora was pretty sure that several of the men had been practicing in secret, but what they did in their spare time was the least of her concerns.

Her own spare time, however, _was_ rapidly becoming a concern.

"Bitch..." Twisting the screw that secured the panel to the bike, she was rewarded with a clink of steel dropping onto the floor. "Grounded for two weeks. I'm one hundred and four – I'm not a fucking child anymore!"

Music thudded through the room like a pulse, and Mora took great pleasure in knowing that it was something else her mother disapproved of. Finding out why this D-Wheel was rattling when it went over fifty miles an hour should have been plenty to take her mind off the embarrassment of being grounded at her age, and the knowledge that her mother had done it in full view of her four advisors. But tonight she found she was just too angry to focus on the task at hand. Her thoughts kept twisting back to dwell on how unfair it was, and how much she wished she were back up on the surface.

She would never admit it to anyone, and she took pains to hide it when she was up there, but she loved going topside. She was as ill-suited to light as any drow, and it was perfectly possible to meet members of their community that had never set foot outside the complex in their lives. But she was not one of them. Her society was ruled by bitchiness, verbal bullying and backstabbing, and being the daughter of the current matron and a priestess of Lolth did not protect her from this. Mora's only retreat and means of rebuilding her self esteem, was to go and find someone who was unquestionably inferior to herself to bully. Humans made easy targets, and these outings quickly became her escape, and a way of exercising her own cruelty.

There was no escape for her now, though. The thought danced in front of her mind like a mote of light, and she punched the side of the D-Wheel angrily. Her hand glanced off the corner of the panel, and a gash sliced deeply across the back of her thumb. The screwdriver slipped from her grasp onto the workbench, upsetting the pot of screws as it tumbled onto the floor. There was a shower of metal on the floor like tiny hailstones, before the screwdriver clattered behind them, sending noise bouncing off the walls.

"Fuck!"

She was not completely certain what she was cursing. The door opened, and Bright peered in, his gaze alert from the cry of pain. As soon as he saw the blood, he was by her side.

"I'm fine!" She snapped. She probably was. The gash was not deep, but it was still bleeding - but she was too angry to think of how to stop it, or even to move. So it was up to Bright to steer her to the threadbare sofa, and lift her hand up over her head, while she simmered at the injustice of it all.

"Press," Bright did not waste words with instructions, giving her a dressing to press over the wound before turning around to pick up the scattered screws. Mora watched him vacantly for a while, before her eyes were drawn to the gash clotting beneath the gauze. Her rage bubbled again.

"Manipulative bitch."

Bright cocked his head at her, clearly wondering if he was supposed to respond.

"What was I supposed to think?" She complained. "She doesn't give clear instructions and then acts like it's all my fault. It's like she _wants_ me to look stupid..."

There was a sniff from her most trusted bodyguard, and she glared at him, as he picked up another handful of screws. "What? What's so amusing?"

The male drow slid the screws back into a paper cup, carefully averting his gaze. "May I speak plainly?"

Mora rolled her eyes. "Obviously. I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want a straight answer."

He put the screws back on the table and got to his feet, regarding her honestly. "Your mother is a very jealous woman."

The laughter that escaped Mora was hollow. "Flattery? I didn't know you were capable of that, Bright."

"It's not flattery," the elf objected. Mora almost slid off the sofa - she did not think she had ever heard Bright answer back to her. Rational persuasion was his forte, not direct confrontation. "Ever since you became a priestess she's done nothing but belittle you about everything. And it doesn't serve any purpose except to make her feel better. Her words are nothing but spite."

Mora looked away uncomfortably - she thought of that moment every day, wondering over and over again why on earth Lolth had chosen to grace her with her magic, instead of their matron.

"Why would she need to feel better about herself?" She demanded. "She's still our matron, even if I'm the priestess."

"Old," Bright corrected, causing young female to blink hard in surprise.

"Old?"

"Old," he repeated the word. "Look at her, next time you see her. She struggles to hide it, but it's there. See her struggle to adapt to changes in the world above, while you embrace them and let them make you stronger. Every day she gets less attractive while you grow steadily more beautiful. And you've got more opportunities than she could ever have dreamed of when she was your age."

That was certainly true, Mora thought to herself. Her mother was not ancient by any means, but she was no spring chicken any longer, as the saying went. She had never been raised to lead a group. It was sheer fluke that she had been dragged into this world with the rest of their drow community, and she had quickly backstabbed her way to the top in the confusion. She had had to work for it, while Mora had had the luxury of being born into it.

"She's always wanted to be chosen by Lolth - she's made that clear for decades," Bright reminded her. "And then suddenly, she wakes up one morning to find that our Goddess has passed her over in favour of her daughter."

When he put it like that, Mora had to admit that it explained a lot. She had always assumed that jealousy was beneath her mother. After all, she was the leader of their community. You did not get much higher than that in their society. But it did go some way to rationalising the way her mother spoke to her.

"I still don't know why Lolth gave it to me," she admitted quietly. She had never mentioned it to anyone, but Bright was okay. He would slit his own throat before betraying her secrets. "I don't know what she wants me to do with this blessing...maybe she just did it to piss Mum off."

"Or maybe," Bright suggested, sitting down on the arm of the sofa. "She did it to make a point to your mother. That her time is nearly-"

He broke off as she pressed a hand against his mouth to silence that thought. There was a darkness to the way he spoke that sent shivers down her spine.

"Careful what you say," she whispered, her body tense against the worn sofa. There was nobody else in the room, but a wise drow kept those thoughts safely in their heads, where nobody could pry them out. Cautiously, she removed her hand. The blood on her thumb had clotted beneath the dressing.

"Apologies," her bodyguard dropped his gaze and nodded his head in a contrite fashion. The tension in the air seemed to evaporate, but it still lingered in Mora's skin, making her heart thud against her chest. She could not help but think that Bright had a point - maybe that was why she had the gift, and why her mother had taken it so personally. She couldn't help but think how pathetic that was.

"Think on it," Bright muttered, making to get up from the arm of the sofa. "That's all I'm saying."

She gave a humourless snort. "I've got nothing but time to think on things. Still can't believe she thinks she can ground me like a child..."

"Do something you enjoy," Bright nodded to the D-Wheels as he smoothed creases out of his trousers. "The time will pass more quickly."

A thought entered Mora's mind - a reckless, exciting thought that her mother would never approve of in a million years - the best kind of idea in the world. It sent a shiver of excitement tingling through her body, and a smirk crept over her face. As Bright turned to leave, she reached up, snagged the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her level, crashing her lips into his. He staggered, grasping the back of the sofa to stop himself from falling forward and crushing her. For a second, she thought he might try to break free, and she hook her fingers more firmly into the collar of his shirt. But he was not going anywhere, and she gave a moan of surprise as he nipped hungrily at her lips before breaking for air.

"My lady?" He was confused, but not resisting, and it made her feel more powerful than demeaning twenty humans.

"I'm doing something I enjoy," she said pointedly, yanking at the awkward buttons on her outfit. "Take off your clothes." She ordered with impatience, when he made no moves to comply whatsoever.

For a second, she thought he might actually disobey, and leave her there. But that second passed and he was back, crawling on top of her, tugging impatiently at clothes, and pressing into her body in a way that made her gasp.

The thought crossed her mind, as he started pulling her leggings off her hips, that she should stop caring what her mother thought, more often.

OOO

"I wonder why they always ask the men, and never us?"

"Don't be silly dear, we're women. We couldn't possibly have anything educated or relevant to say."

Across the table, Jalal Stormbringer could not stop the corner of his mouth from twitching. The lone journalist, hovering in their corner of the restaurant like an unwelcome wasp at a picnic, shot the two speakers dirty looks, before directing his attention back to the leader of the Shadowchasers. He had at least done them the courtesy of waiting until their plates were empty - most of the reporters had not given them that - but it did not make having one's meal interrupted any more acceptable.

Reminding himself that it would be poor manners to tell him to shove off, Jalal took a deep breath.

"As I was saying, Mr Crick, the updates to the treaty this year are still under discussion, and I am not in a position to confirm or deny any of them until after the summit. In regards to your question as to whether changes will be made to reflect the new tensions in the Middle East, I do not offer any personal opinions on the current events. I can only say that we will review the situation, and make decisions regarding the treaty based on all the information that we have at the time."

"Sounds wise if you ask me," Mr Crick's small face twisted into something that was clearly supposed to be a diplomatic smile.

"...we didn't ask him, did we?" came a dry female voice.

"Not to my knowledge," the figure across from Jalal shrugged, with an innocent smile. "I do love how he's still pretending that we don't exist. I can't imagine how he's managing it - I mean, we're not exactly being quiet."

On Jalal's left hand side, Adrian the Librarian was trying unsuccessfully to hide his mirth in his wine glass. Once again, Mr Crick ignored the blatant trolling, and refocused his efforts on Jalal.

"And how do you respond to fresh allegations that the Shadowchasers are nothing more than your private army to oppress the Shadowkind of this world?"

Statements like this were nothing new to Jalal, but this was the fifth journalist who had approached him tonight, and he was running out of patience. Ordering and eating their meal had been a challenge thanks to the constant interruptions, and he was hoping to get a quick update from Judy about her intriguing texts earlier, before the night was done.

Drawing up the last of his resolve, Jalal locked eyes with the journalist again.

"I respond to the statements the same way that I have always responded to slights against my running of the Shadowchasers." He gave the journalist a moment to lean forward in anticipation, before replying with a completely straight face. "With silence."

"I see," the journalist seemed put out, but there was a definite undertone to Jalal's voice which indicated that this line of questioning was over. "Well, that being the case, I will just take my leave then. Enjoy the rest of your double date."

Now the half dragon's eyes narrowed. _Nice try_. "This is not a double date, Mr Crick. This is a business meeting."

The diplomatic smile was slicked back on like grease. "Of course - my mistake."

He gave a short bow of his head, before scurrying off back towards the bar. A collective groan of relief arose from the table.

"So that's two to Jalal and his diplomacy," the Librarian ticked off on his fingers. "One to me and my 'accidental' spilling of wine. One to Maria's evil face, and one to the two of you acting like a pair of trolls. Looks like we're paying tonight, love."

Mei shrugged carelessly. "Totally worth it, just to see the third one wet himself." Next to her, Maria grinned, a hint of fang still showing.

"Evil? Me?" she asked innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was just startled by his sudden appearance from behind the flower box, and lost control of my shapeshifting. Totally a coincidence."

There was a round of disbelieving snorts, which were swiftly curtailed as the waiter appeared to clear their dessert plates.

Allowing himself to smile again, Jalal leaned back in his seat. In spite of the ongoing persistence of the tabloids, these monthly 'business meetings' were proving to be a lot of fun. And it was not a total lie either - they had discussed business and work that very evening over their main courses, with Mei recounting her efforts to track down a missing fictional character, and Maria pondering a strange series of robberies that had been going on in Backwater for the past fortnight. The winner though was unquestionably Adrian who had recalled a fight over an ancient scroll earlier that week, which had ended up with him swimming in a river made of cherryade, and losing yet another trenchcoat to a shoal of mutated piranha fish.

They made a dynamic and slightly crazy group, the half dragon concluded, drawing more than their fair share of stares from the other diners, even without the press wandering unsubtly over from the bar every ten minutes to ask questions. But the company was friendly, and the time spent was fun. It was worth putting an evening aside for friends like these.

A hand waved in front of his face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"You're looking ruminative," Maria informed him, her head tilting to the side in curiosity. There was a white rose tucked behind her ear, and the sight of it made Jalal smile – he had put it there himself at the start of the date.

"Just thinking what an interesting group we make," he said.

Mei gave a snort. "You and everyone in the restaurant," she stated. "I swear it's the clothes. If I get wolf whistled at once more on the way to the bathroom, I'm going to be testing how flammable the alcohol is here. Improvised Molotov cocktails are always fun."

Maria patted the assistant Librarian on the hand. "They're just jealous that they can't pull of corsets."

"Or half a dozen petticoats," Adrian said, nodding pointedly at Maria's green ballgown.

"Hey, I have a full dozen petticoats under here, thank you very much!" Maria lifted her chin. From the rustle under the table, she was also folding her legs under her dozen petticoats. "They're keeping me warm in the snow."

She inclined a head to the window, where the blustery outdoors was doing its best to bring the last of winter inside to join the diners.

"Yes, and we aren't exactly subtle either, Adrian," Jalal pointed out, nodding at the Librarian's Bahama blue trenchcoat, flung over the back of his chair. "I've already overheard several comments about being old fashioned being whispered at the other tables."

"You're not old fashioned," Maria corrected. "You're vintage. Vintage is a good look for you."

Never let it be said that age made you immune to compliments. Feeling rather far more cheerful than he had five minutes ago, Jalal gave his date a grateful smile.

"Uh oh...synchronised paparazzi. _They're evolving_!" Mei exclaimed in a dramatic undertone. Sure enough, a pair of journalists were making their way casually towards the table, moving with the same sway and pace, that was just a little too perfect. Jalal wondered with a sinking feeling if they had practiced this approach beforehand in the street.

"Ah Mr Stormbringer!" the reporter on the left had a loud voice, which made everyone on the table wince. "Do forgive the intrusion, but we simply could not leave without saying hello."

"How considerate of you, gentlemen," Jalal's voice was laced with sarcasm, and he turned curiously toward Adrian. "What are the odds of so many of the Sword in the Stone's finest making their way into the same small bar and restaurant on the same evening as us?"

"Astronomical," the Librarian deadpanned, but the two had clearly had a few too many drinks while waiting for the perfect moment to strike, and did not seem to notice the hostility. As with every reporter that night, they angled themselves so that they were facing Jalal and Adrian's side of the table, effectively dismissing both of the women from their questioning.

"It is a charming restaurant back here," the reporter on the right commented. His voice was wheezy, and Jalal had no trouble identifying the tang of an e-cigarette (less cloying than the genuine thing, but with a sickly sweetness to it). "A very intimate place for a date."

"This is not a date," Jalal was starting to wonder if he should have those words printed on a t-shirt. "It's a business meeting."

"So Mei, d'you think we should use our invisibility to fight crime, or for the cause of evil?" Maria asked loudly. Mei pretended to consider this for a moment.

"Well, you _are_ in law enforcement, but evil is much more fun. I say we take over the world!"

"Now now Jalal," the reporter on the left wagged a finger as though the half dragon were a disobedient child. "Let's not be coy here. You do spend a lot of time with Miss Temorline here-" He did not bother to gesture or even make eye contact with Maria upon mentioning her name, instead continuing to act as though she were not there. "Rumours often have a grain of truth to them after all. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that you would choose to spend a Friday night with someone special, as so many others up and down the country choose to…"

"Really? So where are your dates, then?" Adrian shot back, swirling wine around his glass, but Maria had reached the end of her patience, and sharply cleared her throat. The reporters jumped and rounded as though they had only just noticed her sitting there, and met the furious glare of the kyubi.

"Okay gents." Maria allowed frustration to permeate her voice. "You caught us. We confess - this is a double date."

She took a moment for the expression of absolute glee to spread over both reporter's faces, along with looks of equal horror from Jalal and Adrian, before softening her features and linking fingers with Mei. With a tender smile, she leaned in, her nose tenderly brushing the other woman's neck. "So have you decided what you're going to have for dessert, darling?"

Adrian managed to cover his nose before the last of his wine could come spurting out of it. Both of Jalal's eyebrows arched in surprise, while Mei let out a giggle and coyly began to chew on her lip.

"Well to be honest my love, I was rather hoping I'd have you," she confessed in a breathless voice.

Maria gave a falsely scandalised gasp. "Behave yourself! The boys are still in the tender sunrise of first love - we don't want to frighten them or make them feel that they have to compete with our burning passion for each other!"

"You're right," Mei sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry. I just can't help myself around you. You're my soulmate."

As they gazed, lovingly into each other's eyes, Adrian leaned in next to Jalal and whispered. "Do you think we'll be like them five years from now, dear?"

It was taking every ounce of Jalal's considerable restraint not to laugh in the faces of the two reporters as he replied. Instead he playfully nudged the Librarian's shoulder. "Of course we will. I don't doubt it for a moment."

The looks of blatant confusion were slowly evaporating, as the two unwelcome intruders connected the dots, and finally understood that they were being mocked. The one on the right rolled his eyes, while the one on the left, gave Jalal a look of disgust, as though the whole thing had been his idea. With identical impatient huffs, they both turned and headed back to the bar, the one on the right already fishing for his cigarette.

They had scarcely left the vicinity, before Maria and Mei burst into fresh, unrestrained giggles. Jalal exchanged a glance with the Librarian, and the two of them cracked up too.

"That was beautiful," Adrian wiped tears from his eyes. "Nice job, ladies."

"What are we going to do with you two?" Jalal asked, shaking his head, a few late chuckles escaping.

"I can think of a few things," Mei muttered, with a less than innocent smirk in her husband's direction. His kitty ears twitched in delight.

"But the gentlemanly thing," Maria mused. "Would be to escort us safely home - it's very dark and cold out there, and who knows what dangers could await helpless young ladies such as ourselves?"

Adrian gave the biggest snort of the night, as both women retrieved their bags from under the table. "Did you not see those two reporters just now? You two are five times more dangerous than anything lurking out there - especially when you're working together."

"Now now Adrian," Jalal pretended to chastise. "Their collective and separate skills and abilities notwithstanding, it is unseemly of a knight to abandon a lady."

He rose from his chair and offered an arm to Maria as she got up and brushed creases from her skirt. "May I be your escort this evening, mademoiselle?"

Smiling, Maria took his arm. "I would be delighted."

"Guys," the serious tone was so abruptly jarring that a jolt of panic went instinctively through Jalal's spine. Mei had pulled her phone out of her bag, and was showing Adrian something on the screen. The Librarian's gaze scanned lines of text rapidly, his ears bristling as he reached the end.

"We need to go to London," he said firmly. "Now."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth, when Jalal's phone began to ring. His heart was picking up speed as he registered the London area code.

"Yes?"

"Hey boss, it's Mark Carpenter. I think you need to get down to London. We've got a situation, and we're pretty sure Judy LaBaron is in the middle of it."

* * *

 **A/N:** Many thanks to the three who reviewed my last chapter! If anyone is still there after this one, I'd love more! If you were hoping for a duel, there is one coming next chapter, so hold tight!

No Shadowchaser File this week, as I don't have anyone new at this moment to introduce. See you all next week!


	3. Chapter 3: Waste Not Want Not

**A/N:** If you've read any of my stuff, you'll know that I can't plot duels. I can play the game. And I can write duels. But actually planning them out requires patience, skill and an ability to juggle several things at once that I do not possess. Consequently, I roped two dashing young men in to assist me with this story – 7th Librarian, and Scarlet Weather, who will be taking turns with the children's card games. This one belongs to 7th Librarian. Any questions about the cards should go to him.

Enjoy!

 **Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen**

 **By Mei1105**

 **Chapter 3: Waste Not Want Not**

The key element behind any threat was fear. Becky knew this better than most. She was well aware that the not knowing exactly what the monster outside her window had been after all those years ago, had been what had kept her paralysed in her bed each night. Kidnapping, as she was quickly learning, was no exception.

A quick peek out of their cell showed three more lined up beside them on the left. To their right was the exit, being studiously guarded by Fleek. She could not tell if the other cells were occupied. If they were, they were keeping quiet and out of the way. Fleek did not look that intimidating, but if there were other prisoners down here, who knew how long they had been here or what had happened to them? They could have all sorts of reasons for fearing the presence of even one dark elf.

But Becky could not be afraid - not anymore. Emily was not afraid. Her friend had full confidence in their rescue, and while Becky did not necessarily share said confidence, she could not give into despair with such a positive influence nearby.

The fact that a tiny niggling portion of her mind was still wondering if this whole night was a dream, was also helping her to stay calm.

Once you stopped being afraid, it was actually very easy for a plan to come to mind.

Leaving Emily to pace up and down the back wall, she leaned against the bars of their cell and softly cleared her throat. Fleek rounded on her in fright, as though he had completely forgotten that there were people in the cells he was supposed to be watching.

"Hey, what time is it?" she asked, her tone completely innocent, hoping that he had not seen her remove her watch a minute ago. Fleek swallowed uncomfortably.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you," he said.

"Oh, of course!" Becky lifted her hands up in apology, gently pressing herself just a little closer to the bars. "My mistake. You are our guard, after all." She let some of her accent back into her voice, giving it a huskier quality. "Can't be distracted guarding prisoners after all. We might be dangerous."

She was not a hundred percent certain that this was going to work, but she had to try something, and she could adjust tactics if needed. Positioned with the wall supporting her, Emily was watching the exchange with an expression that was caught between disbelief and a haze of genuine confusion. Becky did her best not to look at her - she could _not_ laugh now…

Fleek turned his body to face her properly. "I guess you could be…" He did not seem sure of where she was going with this. _Bless him_ , Becky thought. Living down here, in this kind of culture, he'd probably never been on the receiving end of flirting. "We left all your belongings in the cafe though, so you can't be that dangerous…" He frowned curiously. "What accent is that? Afrikaans?"

"Xhosa," Becky corrected, with a perfectly enunciated click of her tongue. Fleek seemed to straighten at the noise, an intrigued gleam appearing in his eye. She resisted the urge to smirk. _Bingo._

"I've heard that a couple of times on the surface," he said, taking a slow meandering step forward. "How do you do that thing with your tongue?" Becky smiled sweetly.

"Each click is in a different part of the mouth," she explained. "The X is with the side of the tongue."

She repeated the click again, and Fleek approached with a curious grin.

"The Q is in the back of the mouth," she made sure to keep eye contact as she demonstrated. "And the C-"

Unfortunately Fleek never got to hear what the C sounded like, as both of Becky's hands shot out between the bars of her cell, seized him by the front of his shirt, and pulled him sharply into the metal. There was a nasty clang as his skull hit the bars, and he gave a muffled 'oof!' before she repeated the motion again. With another bang of bone on iron, he slumped unconscious to the floor.

Taking only a moment to regard her handiwork, Becky got to her knees and began rummaging through his pockets.

"Holy crap, you're good!" Emily exclaimed, laughter bubbling up through her voice. There was a sudden surge of shuffling from the other cells, and one man with scraggly hair pressed his face against his own bars to get a better look.

"I _never_ thought that would work!" Becky admitted, finally locating the ring of keys on Fleek's belt, and fumbling for the correct one. "What are the odds he'd fall for human charms when they're so elitist?"

"Never underestimate the pulling power of a sexy accent," Emily grinned, before studying the keyring seriously. "It's the long medium-weight iron one in the middle of the ring there."

Becky blinked in surprise. "How do you know that?"

"I told you, I get kidnapped all the time - I can match keys to locks in my sleep," Emily shook her head, as Becky tried the key and the lock clicked first time. "And there you go!"

The heavy iron swung open with a creak that caused Becky's stomach to turn. Now that they were out, her nerves were free to come back and dance around her body. They were actually escaping, and if they got caught...she shut that line of thought off quickly, as Emily walked carefully out behind her.

"Check the other cells," she asked. "I'm just gonna stand here for a moment…" and she leaned heavily against the wall with a sigh. More than a little concerned for her friend, Becky hurried to do as instructed. There were three other cells, but only the one next to theirs was occupied by the scraggly haired man.

"Hang on, I'll get you out," Becky fumbled for the keys, but the man cleared his throat. It sounded as though he had not used his voice for ages, and his breath had the smell of decay on it.

"All the same to you girls, but I'd just slow you down," he wheezed through a gap in his teeth. "Besides, even with this mad cult, it's drier down here than in a shop doorway."

Clearly Mundane if he thought this was just a cult. Becky felt a flush of shame rise to her cheeks, but the man only chuckled. It sounded bubbly in his throat.

"Go on. Get out while you can."

"Are you certain?" It felt very wrong leaving him here.

"Course," the man said. "Get Stan to go with you though. Dunno why he's being so quiet…"

Frowning Becky peered quickly into the other two cells. "There's no one else here."

"Umm...Becks," Emily's voice was twisted with horror and pity, and Becky turned to find that her friend was no longer leaning against the wall. Instead she had retreated back into their dark cell, and was crouching beside the pile of thin blankets in the corner.

Becky felt her stomach turn.

"Stan can't come with us," Emily said gravely, tucking a corner of the blanket tighter so that it wrapped the body like a shroud. A shudder ran through Becky's body, mixed with a horrible sense of self loathing - they had been in that cell for half an hour, and they had not even bothered to check what was under those blankets…

The man seemed to slump against the bars with a groan of pain.

"Fuck...go. Both of you. You won't last long down here."

"Why?" Emily's voice had dropped in dread as she carefully walked back out of the cell. "What happens down here? Does this have anything to do with the sacrifice we heard them talking about?"

The man gave a shrug with shaking shoulders. It seemed to take him all the effort in the world. "Who knows? There used to be loads of us - we'd go clear out tunnels for them. Then about a month ago, they just take one of us each night. Last night it was Lee-" He nodded to the cell on his left, and his voice seemed to catch. "Homeless is one thing but Lee was just a kid for fucks sake. Only ten..."

The words seemed to die in his throat, and he retreated into a ball. Becky could have asked again - she wanted to ask again - but she knew that he would never move now. He had another friend to grieve for. So she took the keys and slipped them through the bars.

"If you change your mind," she said, placing them on the floor next to him with a soft clink of iron. He did not look up, and it was with monumental reluctance, that Becky backed away from the cell.

She had not registered Emily crouched beside Fleek, until she stood up again with a wobble. She must have looked miserable, for the auburn haired girl reached out and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Waste not, want not," she quipped, producing what she had found on Fleek's unconscious person - a small pocket knife. "You'd better take it - I'm better with guns."

Becky's nerves, already sky high, shot up even further, and she gave Emily an arch look, which got the small blade pushed into her hands impatiently. "Just pretend you're sculpting."

She eyed it critically. "This is the worst art class I've ever been in," she deadpanned. But she pocketed the blade regardless, and hoped that she would never have to use it. Emily chortled.

"C'mon then. Nice and slowly. I don't want to trip over my own feet. It makes for a very undignified exit."

Every instinct in Becky was telling her to run, now that they were free, and as she peered through the doorway, she had to fight hard not to sprint for the nearest exit. Emily was right – she was in no condition to be running anywhere.

"Anything dangerous?"

"Yes, your voice," Becky said testily. "Whisper, for the love of God."

"Sorry!" Emily hissed, as they entered the corridor. Unlike the soft light in the cells, the corridors were nearly pitch black.

"Why are the lights off?" Becky asked, feeling for the wall.

"No lights," came the reply. It was impossible to see, but she felt that Emily was fumbling for something. "Drow can see pretty well in the dark. Stick them under sunlight, they _really_ don't like it. Hang on…" She finished fumbling, and the corridor was illuminated with a dim glow from Judy's phone. "Gods bless the person who invented the flashlight app."

In spite of the glow, Becky could not help but feel that they were still fumbling. Taking Emily by the arm, so that she had something to hang onto if she felt dizzy, she started to pull her into the long empty corridor. Doors were scattered at regular intervals on the left hand side, and Becky felt a shiver of apprehension – did they all contain cells with prisoners? Were there other dark elves guarding inside, who would see them blatantly escaping as they went past the door?

"What do we do if someone passes us?" she whispered, slowing down, as she realised that Emily was dragging her own shorter legs as they walked. "Do we run?" she was dubious of Emily's ability to achieve this, but adrenaline was a wonderful thing…

"Bloody hell, no!" Emily exclaimed. "First rule of escaping – act like you're supposed to be there. If someone comes this way, just shut your mouth, put your head down and walk with a purpose."

Shaking her arm free of Becky's, the short redhead hunched her shoulders over, and strode ahead with firm, solid steps, and a sway of her upper body that was almost hypnotic in the torchlight.

"Oh my God," Becky muttered, as Emily turned to face her with hooded eyes and a scowl. "So much brooding. You look like Bucky in The Winter Soldier."

Emily's countenance brightened back into her usual quirkiness. "Exactly! Walk like you're off to murder Captain America!"

She somewhat ruined the effect by walking into a wall with a thud. The phone hit the floor with a clatter, casting a glow on the walls. Becky did her best not to laugh.

"Okay, why don't you leave the murderous walking to me?" she suggested, putting one of Emily's arms over her shoulder. "C'mon. You've banged your head enough for one day, and you have precious little dignity left to lose."

"You've got a point the - HEY!"

OOO

 _I'm getting too old for this,_ Mark Carpenter thought to himself, putting his phone away as he sadly observed the damage in the cafe. Most men his age were starting to think about having families and taking desk jobs. He had always shrugged at the suggestion, insisting that he still had a few good years of field work left in him. But then along would come nights like this. Incidences with this much destruction were mercifully rare in this line of work, but before he had been a Shadowchaser, he had been a paramedic, and he had been working on the day of the 7/7 London bombings. He still remembered the streets reduced to rubble, the screaming and the sheer horror of knowing that somewhere beneath your feet, people were dying.

The sounds of broken china cracking under boots snapped him out of his thoughts. Shannon, the youngest member of their team of three, was approaching, stripping blue latex gloves off her hands.

"Where do you want them, Mark?" she pushed a sweaty strand of hair out of her eyes. As soon as they had arrived on the scene, they had taken over from the first responders, splinting the broken limbs, and checking the four dark elves over for other injuries. Mark had dearly wanted to help, but their injuries were not life threatening, and Shannon and Tariq could handle it. His job was to ascertain exactly what had happened as fast as possible, before the police got restless and started demanding their crime scene back.

"The secure infirmary," he said firmly. Shannon's eyebrows rose.

"You think they did all this?" she asked. Dark elves did not have the best reputation, but plenty about this crime scene was dodgy. Mark beckoned her over and pointed to the handbags and coats, half buried in the mess.

"Three teenage girls," he nodded at the belongings. "One of whom is Jalal's ward. When I asked that one there-" He pointed to the splinted elf who was still whimpering over his broken knees. "-where they were, he clammed right up. Something's fishy about this. They might have started this, they might not, but given how much damage there is here, I'm not taking any chances. Secure infirmary until we know who's at fault here."

Nodding, Shannon turned and went back to her patients. She screeched to a halt with a yelp that sent Mark's heart racing. He was understandably alarmed to see a strong oak door materialising in the middle of his crime scene.

He was even more alarmed, when his boss strode out of it, with a face like thunder. Mark could not help but gulp - he was fortunate enough never to have seen Jalal angry, and he hoped that he would never have to see it again.

"Evening boss," he greeted, politely confused at this bizarre method of transport. He hadn't expected the half dragon for at least ten minutes, and he would have placed bets on him coming by D-Wheel. He was even more puzzled as more people piled out of the door. His eyebrows arched as he recognised Maria Temorline, and pressed together in curiosity at the two unfamiliar faces following behind. The door vanished behind them as though it had never been there. Jalal took in the debris, a mixture of fury and blind panic wrestling for control.

"Mark, what do we know?" he asked. He was not looking at him - his eyes were fixed on the pile of belongings under half a broken table.

"Four casualties," the Shadowchaser began to report as swiftly and succinctly as he could. "All dark elves. We're sending them to HQ for treatment."

Even as he spoke, Shannon's capture gem glowed, and the nearest two elves vanished. Jalal's companions were spreading out through the room, the man poking his head into the back of the cafe, the woman rummaging through the discarded handbags, and Maria marching for the door.

"And the girls?" Jalal asked. Mark shook his head.

"No sign of them, save for their kit," he indicated with his foot. "We found three sets of ID – Judy LaBaron, Emily Foxblade and Rebecca Abbott. When I asked the elves about them, they refused to talk. Sounds like a kidnapping, but I didn't want to jump to any conclusions."

It was probably a good thing that the other elves were vanishing to the infirmary, because Jalal looked ready to go over there and wring the answers out of them himself.

"Do we know anything else?" Jalal asked. Mark nodded curtly and pointed at the debris.

"Judy's bag is missing - makes me think she might have got away under her own steam. But there are traces of cobweb around here and here." He pointed the patches out, strands of floaty white still clinging to shards of table leg. "It's pretty likely there might have been more dark elves here than just the four men we set off back to the infirmary. I'm pretty sure none of them were priestesses."

There was a clatter, and a pair of white kitty ears poked around the back door.

"There's two unconscious baristas in the alley back here," the Librarian called. "They were wrapped up in web cocoons. I need an ambulance please, Mark."

"Do you need first aid?" the former paramedic felt his blood start to race.

"I've got it," Mei rose from the floor. "You brief Jalal."

The two hurried out the back, while Mark nodded to Tariq, who got straight on the phone. "Well that makes things a little clearer. And now we've got human casualties, I really will need to let the police back in, Jalal. They're keeping pedestrians away, but they're going to want access soon."

"In a minute," Jalal agreed. His fury was by no means diminished, but he seemed to be masking it with rationality - for the moment. "I want more facts. You haven't had any drow related disturbances in the city lately?"

The London Shadowchaser shook his head. "No. I didn't even know we had any large groups living here. Either they've not been here long, or they're really quiet. This doesn't strike me as the actions of a quiet group though..."

"No, these strike me as the actions of teenagers," Jalal conceded. "It's out of character, not to mention messy. Drow don't come up to the surface unless they have a bloody good reason."

Mark nodded. "And they took pains to hide the two baristas, and yet they left four of their own behind with injuries. I know the men are more expendable to dark elves than women, but that's not the action of a carefully planned kidnap attempt. That sounds more like one going awry."

"Entirely possible," Jalal admitted. "They might have underestimated the girls. It wouldn't be the first time."

Mark decided not to comment on that. "Once you guys get some answers out of the four at HQ, Shannon, Tariq and I can put a rescue into effect-"

He paused, for Jalal was already shaking his head.

"Not this time Mark. We've got other ways of tracking the girls down," he nodded towards the door, and Mark guessed he was referring to the odd couple that he had arrived with. "We'll put them into action. I don't want to wait around for one of the elves to start feeling generous in the face of prison time."

Mark was surprised, but only for a moment. He was not stupid. Jalal trusted his teams implicitly, and usually only got involved if it was serious. But this was not just a random kidnapping - this was Judy. And Mark had seen that kind of determination so many times in both his jobs - it was the kind of almost supernatural power that allowed mothers to lift fallen trees off their children, which then chafed and crippled inwards as they were forced to relinquish care to professionals and wrestle with the knowledge that there was only so much they could do themselves. It had nothing to do with Jalal not trusting the London Shadowchasers to do their job - it had everything to do with being a parent who was going to do everything in their power to help their child.

"We'll be on standby if you need us," he assured. Jalal nodded in thanks, and Mark gave the half dragon a half smile. "Sorry about interrupting your date, boss."

"It was not a date," Jalal objected with a sigh. "It was a business meeting."

"Oh," Mark felt awkwardness creep up around him. "Sorry."

OOO

The audience chamber was silent.

But Maureen knew better than to trust it.

No wise drow ever let their guard down for a second, even when they did appear to be alone with their thoughts. She was no fool. She was no pushover either, but she knew that it would be so easy for someone to slip into her chamber now, and slit her throat, just as she had done to the last matron, barely days after they had been dragged into this world. Backstabbing was positively encouraged in their society, and members of their race rarely lasted long enough to see old age.

She could see it now though, as she stood before the mirror in the corner, studying her face closely. There were no lines, or tiredness etched into her skin, but the glow she had possessed in her youth was fading every day. Her hair was losing the volume it had once possessed, thinning into the wispiness of age, and her body, once strong and powerful, was slower to respond than it had been the day she had severed the last matron's jugular with a single slash.

A feeling of vulnerability clawed at the inside of her throat, and she tore her gaze away from the mirror, her eyes darting around the room. It was pretty bare - even the decorations on the wall were scaled down, with only a large statue of Lolth clinging upside down to the ceiling. The mirror before which she stood, and the desk in the corner with writing supplies on it, were the only two concessions to functionality that she had made. Her chair sat on its raised platform against the back wall. Mora sneeringly called it a throne when she thought that she could not hear.

Thoughts of her daughter sent fresh discomfort squirming through her belly, coupled with hot anger. That was supposed to be her blessing! As far as she was concerned, Mora had done nothing more or less than steal from her, because there was no way that Lolth would willingly choose her irresponsible, surface-loving daughter over her. The fact that Mora seemed to have no discernible goal to work her gift towards only supported this. Instead she spent her time flouncing around on the surface and bullying humans for sport, just as she had done tonight. It was inconceivable that Lolth would just give her a blessing unconditionally.

Turning back to stare at the mirror, eyes rose tiredly to the large statue carved into the ceiling.

 _I've been giving you sacrifices for a month now._ She thought. _So why? What has she done that I haven't? What makes her so special?_

Her reflection seemed to mock her with an answer. Mora had almost everything. And soon, when some drow came along and took a knife to Maureen's own throat, there would be no _almost_ about it.

Paranoia gripped her again, and she fought to control herself. She could not let anybody see her anxiety. Any sign of weakness was a dinner bell to an assassin.

 _I will not let my upstart of a daughter usurp me again!_ She thought angrily. _She's taken my blessing, but she cannot have my position as matron! I'm wise to her now, and soon I'll have given enough sacrifices to make Lolth happy. And then, when she_ _realises_ _just where the true power has always been, I'll kill her myself._

OOO

Cursing, a lone figure slithered back away from the edge of the building. There was a patch of dirt on her skirt, where she had been kneeling on the ground, and she brushed it off with a shudder. The outside world was just as filthy as it always was, and even this high up, she could not escape the stink of takeaway, cigarettes and petrol fumes.

Her name was Neela, and she had more magic than any of the pathetic members of their clan - that was why their matron entrusted her with missions like this. She was supposed to have concealed all evidence of the kidnap before any Shadowchasers showed up. But she was too late, and now Stormbringer himself was here, growing more and more visibly furious with each passing second. Not for the first time that evening, she wondered just who their matron's new prisoners were to attract such attention.

She cursed again, as she saw the half dragon appear in the doorway, staring hard at a phone. Their clan had flourished underground for generations, stalking beneath London back when it had been only a fraction of its current size. Now thanks to Mora and her stupidity, they were a hairsbreadth away from being exposed. She might respect Maureen - she had been in charge of them for a very long time now - but her daughter was another level of stupid. Probably had something to do with her frequent visits to the surface. To be honest, Neela could completely get behind Maureen's threats to throw her daughter into the pit. Why Lolth had felt the need to bless that little bitch, was beyond her...

There was nothing she could do to hide the evidence now. The best she could do was to go back, report everything to Maureen, and let their matron decide what to do next. With one last look at the crime scene, Neela took a determined stride away from the edge, and stepped across the roof.

She snapped to a sudden halt, as a figure vaulted over the opposite edge of the roof in a whirl of petticoats.

"Evening," Maria tipped her hat. Neela whirled and bolted for the fire escape. Maria sighed.

"Why do they always want to run?" she muttered, sprinting after her, just as the dark elf dropped out of sight, sliding down the ladder with ease.

Flames of flickering blue flared into life around Maria, twisting off to form tiny little fox-shaped blazes. "Get em, girls!"

The flames dropped down the side of the building as Neela slid to a graceful and controlled stop just an inch from the icy ground. She took off instantly, sprinting for the street, with the pack of fox fire hot on her heels. Maria reached the ladder just as the first one went for the dark elf, jumping up and latching onto the back of her heel with tiny flickering teeth. Neela gave a shriek as the little fox flame exploded, and her ankle gave way, sending her crashing into the frozen tarmac in the alley entrance. One by one the flames leaped for her body, bursting like powerful firecrackers as they bit down into her arms and legs.

Maria landed gracefully at the bottom of the fire escape, as the dark elf pulled herself upright. The last of the blue fox fire vanished with a flicker into the night. She was sooty and hunched over in pain, but the look she fixed Maria with was blind fury.

"You bitch! Where do you get off attacking a helpless elf in the middle of the street?!"

"Well there's no need for that kind of language," Maria stated, tucking her parasol over one shoulder. "And you weren't on the street. You were on the roof. May I ask why you were snooping on me and my colleagues?"

"None of your damn business!" Neela hauled herself upright and staggered for the street. She drew up short as the alley entrance was filled with the formidable presence of Jalal Stormbringer.

"Have problems, Maria?" he asked, cordially, though his hand was resting clearly on the handle of his sword. Even without his armour, Neela knew she wouldn't want to cross him in a fight.

"Just caught a spy," Maria informed him, as though they were exchanging pleasantries in the street. "She seemed very interested in the mess the other dark elves made in the cafe."

"Showing concern for my fellow drow is a crime now, is it? This is harassment!" Neela shrieked. "I was minding my own business up there until you jumped up and started shooting fire at me!"

Glancing over her opponent's shoulder, Maria caught Jalal's eye. The half dragon's brow had creased at the mention of the word harassment. The kyubi's mind was decided in an instant.

"Well heaven forbid we be accused of harassing you," Maria said, pulling out her duel disk. "What would you say to a fair fight?"

Glancing back and forth between them, Neela weighed her options. "And when I win?"

"You can leave, and take your reasons for being here with you," Maria said. " _If_ you win, that is. And if I win, you'll consent to sit tight and answer any questions we may have for you."

"You won't win, Shadowchaser!" Neela snapped, pulling a duel disk out from her rucksack and securing it to her wrist.

"We'll see," Maria shrugged, before looking over at her companion. "You happy for me to take this, boss?"

"Be my guest," Jalal invited, taking a gracious step back and relaxing his stance against the wall of the street, as both duel disks hummed into life.

"Duel!"

 **Life Points**

Maria: 8000

Neela: 8000

"I issued the challenge, so the first move is mine!" Maria declared, causing the dark elf to sulk as she drew. "I activate my spell card, Painful Decision. Now I get two copies of Genome Tangent from my deck – one goes to my graveyard, the other comes straight to my hand."

With a practiced hand, she slid the first into the top of her duel disk, before rummaging through her deck for the second.

"Genome Tangent?" Neela's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Yup," Maria nodded. "In fact, why don't you say hello?"

She placed the fresh card in the tray, and with a pop, a fluffy fox-like creature materialised on the field. Its fur was brown, save for a white ruff, and a white tip to its tail. Upon seeing Neela, it cocked its head to one side, and gave a curious squeak (1800/1500).

"Cute, isn't he?" Maria asked, with a grin. Neela's expression of disgust spoke for her. "Alright, you're not a cute person. No problem. I set two cards facedown, and call it a turn." She tilted her head in a manner eerily similar to her monster. "I never asked your name. How rude of me."

"Don't think you'll get any mercy by being polite," her opponent sneered, drawing as she did. "My name is Neela. Neela Darkhome. And it's my turn now. I'm activating a spell card – Enchanted Fitting Room."

The creepy red curtain materialised in front of her, billowing in the wind that still whistled down the side street.

"You must know the drill," Neela surmised. "I pay eight hundred life points, look at my top four cards, and summon all level three or lower monsters there."

"Good for you," Maria nodded. "So what have you got?"

Smirking, Neela pulled the cards off and turned all four of them around, to reveal Ectoplasmic Fortification, Dragon Zombie, Armoured Zombie and Clown Zombie. Maria blinked in surprise.

"Three monsters it is!" Neela grinned, placing them in her tray and returning Ectoplasmic Fortification to her deck. The trio of zombies appeared, Armoured Zombie leering across the field besides the clown, who clapped his hands with a sinister cackle (1500/0) (1350/0). Dragon Zombie materialised next to them, drooling into the frost covered concrete (1600/0).

 **Life Points**

Maria: 8000

Neela: 7200

Folding her arms, Maria gave the three monsters a calculating look. "Interesting deck choice," she commented. Neela snorted, scornfully.

"You were expecting me to have fairies and pixie dust?" she drawled. Across from her, the kyubi shrugged.

"Don't know what I was expecting, really," she confessed. "Zombies aren't really…cutting edge, though, are they? How long have you been playing this game?"

Neela glared. "Long enough to know that more attack points means winning." She selected another card from her hand – a second copy of Ectoplasmic Fortification. "So I'd better get some. I use my spell to send Pumpking from my deck to my graveyard."

The card popped out of the side of her deck and she slipped it straight into the graveyard. Instantly, moulding roots burst from the ground and stabbed into all three zombies, pumping them full of energy, and swelling their rotting bodies with additional power (2000/0) (1850/0) (2100/0).

"Who's cutting edge now?" Neela asked. "Clown Zombie, attack that Genome thing!"

The creepy entertainer advanced, pulling a wicked looking scythe from nowhere and swinging it around to cut Genome Tangent in two.

"Yeah, no thanks," Maria said. "I activate Cross Shift!"

The quickplay spell lifted, and Genome Tangent vanished just as the scythe swung through the air where its neck had been.

"Now Genome Tangent returns to my hand," Maria slid the card back with the others before selecting another. "And I get to bring out this little guy to replace him – Fire Fox!"

Materialising just ahead of Clown Zombie was a small red mammal, with six beautiful curled tails. Its dark round eyes challenged the attacking monster, and the zombie seemed to pause as flames began to smoulder around its paws (1900/1200).

"Clown Zombie, stand down!" Neela shouted, and her monster slunk away back to her side of the field, scowling. Fire Fox only sat back on its haunches and calmly observed its enemies.

"Good choice," Maria grinned. "She's a bit too hot for him to handle."

"Shut up," Neela groused. "I have others! Armoured Zombie, attack Fire Fox!"

With a moaning lurch, the zombie set off, wielding its broken sword. Sighing a little, Maria pressed another button on her duel disk.

"In case it wasn't clear," she said. "I'm rather attached to my monsters. So I activate my second set card – Marvel Evolution Catalyst!"

Armoured Zombie paused almost comically as Fire Fox began to glow.

"What now?" Neela demanded. "You're trading this one in for another weakling?"

"Actually I was thinking of upgrading her instead," Maria stated. "I banish a Marvel Catalyst spell from my deck, and this trap gains its effect. So now I tribute Fire Fox to summon her evolved form – Inferno Fox!"

Fire Fox's form seemed to grow until it was longer and more slender than before. The glow died down to reveal luxurious white fur, and nine tails, fanning gently out behind her. In spite of the glare she sent at Armoured Zombie, there was still an air of majesty surrounding her (2800/2000).

"Stand down!" Neela commanded, her teeth bared in a snarl. Armoured Zombie stumbled its way back to stand between the clown and the dragon. "I'll set this and end my turn."

The facedown materialised behind Dragon Zombie.

"Lovely," Maria felt the cheer and easy confidence that only came from having her favourite monster on the field, envelope her as she drew. "This is local is a bit dreary. Let's change that – I pay a thousand life points to activate my field spell, Marvelous Stage!"

The alley seemed to darken, until Maria's side was almost completely black. Then one at a time, tiny specks of light began to fill the area around her, until she was surrounded by a nebula of colour. Inferno Fox gave a rumble of pleasure and shook its fur our, sending more stars shimmering into the area from its fur.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 7000

Neela: 7200

"Ugh…no accounting for taste," Neela groaned, apparently a little sickened by all the colour now filling the alley.

"You're just jealous that you can't pull this off," Maria stated confidently. "Now I can add one Marvel Catalyst from my deck to my hand."

She pulled the card free, before moving on to another in her hand.

"I know someone who does enjoy this environment though," she said. "Let's welcome back Genome Tangent!"

The small brown fox rematerialized, blinking cutely across the field, before it was swallowed up in white light.

"When life gives you Marvel Catalyst, evolve away!" Maria grinned. "I tribute Genome Tangent to summon Genome Sylph!"

The tiny brown fox had gone, replaced instead with an almost cat-like creature, with cream fur, tipped with pink paws and a pink tail. Its pink ears were long, and little pink and white bow hung off the right one. Its blue eyes were round and massive (2500/1200).

Neela blinked hard, before shielding her face with her hand. "I have no idea what that thing is, but it hurts my eyes!"

Genome Sylph seemed to pout at this.

"Yeah, she gets that a lot," Maria nodded. "Other common statements include ' _seventies disco cat'_ and ' _is she on drugs_?'. But none of those change the fact that she's a tough little girl! But first things first – Inferno Fox, take down that Dragon Zombie! Inferno Burst!"

Flames seemed to lick at Inferno Fox's mouth before she blasted them across the field and into the purple dragon. It gave a sickly howl before keeling over onto its back.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 7000

Neela: 6500

Neela grinned, in spite of her loss of life points. "Waste of a move. Ectoplasmic Fortification prevents my zombies from being destroyed in battle once per turn. So Dragon Zombie isn't going anywhere."

Sure enough, instead of vanishing into pixels, Dragon Zombie merely rolled over lazily onto its feet again as the flames died down around it.

"Doesn't bother me," Maria said. "Now since Inferno Fox battled, she gets one Inferno Counter!"

As she spoke on of the fox's tails began to glow a blinding white.

"Notice me worrying," Neela muttered. "My zombies aren't going anywhere, and no attacks or counters are going to change that."

"They're not," Maria conceded, before smirking. "But you are. Genome Sylph's first effect allows her to attack directly, as long as I cut her attack points in half!" She pointed at Neela, her eyes locked on Sylph. "Go get her, girl! Dazzling Gleam!"

Through the sparkling void of the field spell, Genome Sylph's eyes flashed with an almost unearthly intensity, searing across everyone's vision. Over on the sidelines, Jalal had a blink a few times to get rid of the spots. Neela hissed and rubbed her own eyes – the brilliance had almost blinded her sensitive vision.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 7000

Neela: 5250

"A bit brighter next time," Neela snarled. "I think there are people in Brixton who weren't blinded for life just now!"

"Well someone's grumpy," Maria muttered. "Don't worry, I'm almost done. Genome Sylph's second ability lets me take a Marvel Catalyst back from my graveyard. Oh and as I move into my End Phase, I have to pay another thousand life points to keep Marvelous Stage in play."

She added the spell back to her hand, even as her points dipped again.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 6000

Neela: 5250

"And that's me done," Maria smiled. "Over to you, and your Halloween party."

"You're hilarious," Neela sneered, pulling another card from her deck. "Really. I knew there was a reason I stayed underground."

"And yet here you are," Maria gestured to the rubbish bins and the fire exit. "On the surface, duelling me. So if it's all so beneath you, why do it?"

"It _is_ beneath me," Neela replied, bluntly. "Just like you. But my leader asks, and I obey. Again, just like you."

She jerked her head at their lone audience member.

"Interesting," Maria commented, her eyebrows arching. "I thought drow were raised to hate each other?"

"Oh we are," Neela nodded, apparently unbothered by the line of conversation. "And under any other circumstances I might have tried shoving a knife in our matron's gut a long time ago. But we made an agreement. She gives my house a good position, and makes sure I have a regular supply of humans to play with…and in return, I do magic, I do her dirty work, and I don't stab her in her sleep. It works very well for both of us."

"…if you say so," Maria said lightly. Behind her opponent, she could see Jalal's eyes narrowing, putting pieces together, and trying to see where all the evening's events might fit.

"Oh look," Neela sneered. "Condescension. Scorn my lifestyle all you like. It works for me, so why should I care what you think? You think living up here gives you the right to judge the value of my life? Go ahead – judge it. I win the way I always do – the hard way."

She slotted a card into her disk. "I activate my second Ectoplasmic Fortification – to the graveyard, my king of ghosts!"

The ghostly image of Pumpking appeared for a second, before vanishing into the duel disk. More roots exploded from the ground, pumping energy into the three zombies (2500/0)(2350/0) (2600/0).

"You know, bigger isn't always better," Maria said pointedly, as Dragon Zombie's muscles began to bulge in an obscene manner.

Neela snorted. "No need to ask about your dating life then. I happen to like it when my monsters get bigger, so I'll activate another spell. Pyramid of Wonders raises their points again, by two hundred for every monster on your side of the field." She squinted as the misty pyramid seemed to descent from above her. "Oh and look! You have two!"

Inferno Fox began growling in fury as Armoured Zombie flashed its blade promisingly across the field (2900/0). Clown Zombie resembled a huge beach ball more than anything, but there was certainly nothing comical about the size (2750/0), and Genome Sylph just shrank against the floor, trying avoid breathing in the noxious breath coming from Dragon Zombie (3000/0).

 _That thing is packing the same amount of punch as a Blue Eyes White Dragon,_ Jalal thought to himself. _This deck may not be complicated, but it is no amateur one._

"Dragon Zombie, attack that Fox," Neela called. "Deadly Zombie Breath!"

"I've said it once, and I'll say it again," Maria shook her head, nodding towards Inferno Fox. "I don't think so. I use Inferno Fox's counter. Now her attack increases by five hundred, and any damage she does is doubled."

Neela gave a yell of frustration, but it was too late. Inferno Fox shook the gaseous cloud of breath off before blasting a stream of fire back (3300/2000). Once more, Dragon Zombie rolled over and played dead for a second, before lumbering back to its feet.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 6000

Neela: 4650

"Argh!" Neela stamped her foot. "Armoured Zombie, take it out!"

Maria opened her mouth to say something, but it was too late, and Armoured Zombie ran straight into the on-coming flamethrower. Inferno Fox's attack points, had not dropped.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 6000

Neela: 3850

"What?!" Neela shrieked, as Armoured Zombie sprawled lifelessly on the ground.

"If you'd let me speak," Maria said patiently. "I could have told you that Inferno Fox's effect lasts for a whole turn, not just that battle."

Armoured Zombie got awkwardly back to its feet. Neela gave a growl that was better suited to an injured animal.

"Oh and since Inferno Fox battled twice," Maria added, with a small shrug. "She gets another two counters…I could say something here about not rushing into things, but I don't think you're that interested in hearing anything I have to say."

Two of Inferno Fox's tails turned white, and she swished them with an almost regal look on her face.

"You're right," Neela snarled. "I'm not interested! Clown Zombie, take out that psychedelic cat thing! It's freaking me out!"

The clown did not walk – rather it bounced on its enormous belly over to the side of the field, and forewent the scythe in favour of landing on the poor, startled Pokemon. As Clown Zombie rolled off, the players had a moment's glimpse of Genome Sylph plastered to the concrete, before it vanished in a merciful shower of pixels.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 5750

Neela: 3850

"That was satisfying," Neela concluded, folding her arms, even as all her monsters lost two hundred points from the destruction of one of Maria's (2700/0) (2550/0) (2800/0). "Off you go."

"Thank you," Maria inclined her head, but there was an edge to her voice at the casual destruction of her monsters, as she drew her card. She did not waste time in adding it to her hand and picking one to open her move.

"First things first – Pyramid of Wonders is boring. Let's blow it away with Mystical Space Typhoon!"

The elegantly constructed pyramid stood no chance, and it blew into fragments, which whirled around the street, before disappearing with a swirl of snow. Neela's monsters seemed to wilt slightly in the dust (2500/0) (2350/0) (2600/0).

"I activate Marvel Star. Now I can add a Marvel monster from my deck to my hand. Bulb Dino, I chose you – in fact, I choose you to summon to the field."

She did so, and next to Inferno Fox appeared a small four legged blue dinosaur with darker triangle patterns over its skin. Perched on its back was a small, green plant bulb (800/800).

"You might have guessed what happens next," Maria said. "It's evolution time! I activate Marvel Catalyst, tributing Bulb Dino for his big brother, Petal Dino!"

The little blue dinosaur was swallowed up in white light, through which the sight of leaves falling away from the bulb were clear. As it faded, the monster had grown larger, its fern leaves fanning out over its back, to reveal a pink flower bud still closed tightly on top (1600/1600).

"Somewhere, a botanist is scratching his head," Neela commented, her mouth falling open in surprise as Maria produced another card. "Oh don't tell me!"

"Well if it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing!" Maria declared. "I activate another Marvel Catalyst! Petal Dino evolves again into Saurian Forest Lord!"

The monster was swamped in white light again, its limbs and body expanding and lengthening until it was the size of a family car. The pink flower bud had somehow shot up into a magnificent palm-tree shaped plant, with green leaves surrounding it (2800/2000).

"I hate nature," Neela stated.

"You should try it someday," Maria gave a falsely sympathetic smile. "It's very relaxing. Unlike this. Forest Lord, attack her Clown Zombie with Solar Ray!"

"Oh wow," her opponent drawled. "Four hundred and fifty points of damage. How terrifying." She and Clown Zombie chortled as the plant on Forest Lord's back began to glow with sunlight. The Clown gave a sudden shriek, however, as energy began to drain from its body, bringing it back down to a normal size again (1350/0). Neela gave an indignant shriek.

"You don't challenge the lord of the forest," Maria said. "And those who stand before him, lose a thousand attack points just before he strikes!"

For a long moment, the alley was lit with bright, brilliant sunlight, which exploded from the giant pink flower and crashed into Clown Zombie. The monster gave a shriek which was quickly swallowed up by the ferocity of the ray. Even Jalal had to shield his eyes until the glare died down. As everything came back into view, Clown Zombie rolled back over, smouldering, but still unable to die, thanks to Ectoplasmic Fortification. As it stood again, it began to swell back to its previous attack score (2350/0)

 **Life Points**

Maria: 5750

Neela: 2400

"I'll now expend two of Inferno Fox's counters," Maria declared, as the two glows of Inferno Fox's tail died away (3800/2000). "Now she gains five hundred points for each counter, and any damage inflicted to you is doubled, which means this is where this duel ends! Inferno Fox, attack Clown Zombie and see if it'll stay dead this time – Inferno Burst!"

The flames blazed brighter and hotter than ever before down the field, but as Clown Zombie gave a shriek and tried to hide itself behind its scythe, Neela shrugged, and pressed a button on her duel disk.

"I activate Defense Draw! Now my damage is reduced to zero!" the drow was smug as the flames wrapped around Clown Zombie but did no damage whatsoever. "Oh and I get a free card – thank you for that."

She drew with a flourish, as Clown Zombie returned to the field, smouldering but just as grisly and undead as ever. "Is this the sort of skill all you Shadowchasers have? I have to say, I'm very disappointed."

"I'll just have to do better," Maria said. "Inferno Fox gets another counter, by the way. I end my turn, and I'll pay to keep Marvelous Stage in play."

 **Life Points**

Maria: 4750

Neela: 2800

"Hooray," Neela declared. "Now I can show you how a real monster deal with its enemies. Then I can go back to my clan, happy with the knowledge that I beat a Shadowchaser. I'll use my third Ectoplasmic Fortification, and my final Pumpking goes for a sleep in the graveyard."

The ghostly form of the pumpkin appeared for a second, before more roots shot from the ground and pumped themselves into the three zombies with identical squelches of ooze (3000/0) (2850/0) (3100/0).

"I am getting really sick of those special effects," Maria huffed.

"Well I'm not, so tough," Neela declared. "I activate White Elephants Bone. Now Armored Zombie goes to the graveyard, and in exchange, I get two cards." She drew, smirking. "Only death can pay for life."

"Life isn't that easy," Maria said, grimly. "Never."

"And what would you know about life being hard?" Neela snapped. "What do you know about fighting for survival every day? You think running around, stopping a few monsters like me makes your life hard? You don't know hard until you've spent your life knowing that everyone is out to get you."

Maria held herself perfectly still, but Jalal could see the fight coming to life in her eyes as the accusations came pouring out.

"Is that why you like to play with death?" the kyubi's voice was quiet.

"You what?" Neela verbally stumbled, as she was thrown out of her rant. Maria shrugged.

"I guess it must make you feel powerful – like you've got some sort of control. You don't know what it's like to live without fear, so you like to play with death – the one thing you can have control over."

The flabbergasted drow opened and closed her mouth, goldfish style. Maria just stared, not moving an inch, but the look in her eyes could have punched if given half the chance. Perhaps sensing the danger, Neela plugged another card into her duel disk.

"Ectoplasmic Fusion?" Maria muttered. "What are you fusing?"

"My three Pumpkings," Neela said, pulling them from her deck and slipping them into a pocket. "Bigger is better – especially when it comes to royalty. I call to the field Grand Pumpking: Emperor of Terrors!"

The ground seemed to crack and swirl into a darker, far sinister version of the Polymerization vortex. Vines and roots began to reach out, tunnelling deep into the ground to provide leverage, as the huge monster pulled itself free. The round, musty-smelling body was rotting into a brown mush, its eyes mere empty holes and its mouth a rictus leer (3000/3000).

"That's…unpleasant," Maria wrinkled her nose, screaming as decaying roots suddenly burst from the ground and swallowed Inferno Fox, before dragging her down into the earth. "Hey! What did you do to my Ninetails?!"

"She's…coming down to my level, if you like," Neela said. "When Grand Pumpking is summoned, I can destroy one monster in play. And when it destroys a monster, his second effect resurrects it on my side of the field, as a zombie. Hope you weren't attached to her!"

The ground crumbled again, and Inferno Fox reappeared next to the giant pumpkin, fur drab and lifeless, with none of the majesty it had before. Her eyes were vacant black pits (2800/0).

Maria could only stare, but it was clear that she was beyond rage.

"…you know, I think she looks good on my side of the field," Neela commented. "We'll see what she thinks in a moment. Before that, I'm activating the spell card, Deadly Zombie Breath!"

Even Jalal was astonished. "I knew Blue Eyes and Red Eyes had cards named after their attacks, but Dragon Zombie too?"

"Yeah…starting to think Pegasus didn't quite know when to stop," Maria nodded in agreement. "Alright Neela, what does Deadly Zombie Breath do? Turn even more of my monsters to your side?"

Neela snorted. "No. I tribute Dragon Zombie-"

The purple drooling zombie vanished in a cloud of noxious, green gas.

"-and now I get to reduce the attack of your monsters by that of Dragon Zombie's," Neela finished, as the green haze swept over the field, and descended over Saurian Forest Lord. The plant dinosaur groaned and keeled over, choking under the creeping fumes (1200/2000).

"Doesn't look that impressive now," Neela said. "Inferno Fox, turn that thing into compost!"

The flames that licked the field this time were grey and murky-looking, but they swiftly withered the pink flower, and the dinosaur beneath it.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 3150

Neela: 2800

"And now, Grand Pumpking, show her why it's rude to confront people on rooftops," Neela ordered. "Attack her with Grasp of the Horror Lord!"

Maria was braced for the assault, but a yelp still escaped her as the roots burst out of the earth and struck her hard in the side, one after the other, until she was breathless.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 150

Neela: 2800

"If I were a lesser person, I would brag right now," Neela mused, in a faux thoughtful voice. "But I don't need to – with only a hundred and fifty life points left, you don't have a prayer. Now hurry up – the smell of the surface is making me sick."

Maria regained her breath, straightening her back with a dignified air, as though she had never been struck. Her voice was quiet and strong. "It's my move now."

She drew, and a gleam sparked to life in her eyes.

"Even an army of the undead can't stop the living, Neela. I activate Burial From The Different Dimension, moving my banished Marvel Catalyst to my graveyard."

She removed the card from the pocket of her dress, and tucked it back into her duel disk.

"Fat lot of good it'll do you there," the drow scoffed.

"You'd be surprised," Maria countered, selecting another card from her hand. "I now activate Eternal Catalyst. Now I can pick up as many Marvel Catalysts as I want from the graveyard – and I don't know if you've been counting, but I not have all three of them there. Of course, if I want to activate any of them, I have to pay a thousand life points for each."

All three cards slid out, and she added them cheerfully to her hand, as Neela choked on her own astonishment.

"What was the point of that?!" she spluttered. "You've only got a hundred and fifty life points left!...are you taking this seriously? Because there's no pleasure in crushing you if this is just a joke-"

"Oh relax!" Maria interrupted with a roll of her eyes. "I never said I was going to activate them."

Neela gaped as Maria pocketed all three of the spells.

"I banish them all, to add one Miraculous Marvel Catalyst from my deck to my hand. You might say this is an upgraded version of the regular Marvel Catalyst. So I'm going to use it – on Inferno Fox!"

"You…what?!" Neela shrieked, as the zombified Marvel Monster vanished from her side of the field. "You can't have that! It's on my field!"

Maria pointedly held up the card and began to skim read. "…to you hand…ah! Tribute one Marvel Monster from the field. _The_ field, Neela. It says nothing about _my_ field." She gave an obnoxious grin as she reached for her Extra Deck. "Don't you just love card text loopholes?"

"Oh, shut up!" Neela snapped.

"No, I'm not done yet," Maria declared. "With Miraculous Marvel Catalyst's effect, I tribute Inferno Fox from the field, and special summon to my side of the field, her Mega Evolution – take to the stage, Phoenix Fox!"

Flames were fluttering around the alley, with sparks popping off them like firecrackers. The wildfire seemed to writhe along the concrete before coalescing into a ball of flames, from which the fox burst. Her tails had lengthened, fanning out behind her in a way that fuelled the flames higher, and her neck had gained a similar, rippling mane. The whole effect was offset by the way her fur seemed to have taken on a more golden hue (3400/2900).

"Is there anything in your deck that isn't designed to sparkle or blind the other player?" Neela asked, in an almost petulant tone.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Maria commented. "Why don't we add a little light to your dark and dreary style? Phoenix Fox, roast her Grand Pumpking!"

The whirling spiral of flames were a chilling, almost icy blue, and Grand Pumpking let out a low, ghostly moan before melting into slushy vegetable matter.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 150

Neela: 2400

"Oh dear," Neela shook her head mockingly. "They never learn. Zombies don't stay dead dear! I activate Grand Pumpking's second effect – I pay a thousand life points, to bring him straight back from the graveyard!"

Maria gulped as the rotting green roots ripped free of the ground again, and the mottled vegetable pulled itself free. Even Phoenix Fox took a cautious step back.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 150

Neela: 1400

"I think you both know what's coming now!" Neela chortled. "First, when he's summoned, I get to destroy one of your monsters. So Phoenix Fox bites the dust!"

The nine tailed fox gave a mournful howl before it shattered into fragments.

"And now its second effect-"

"Will have to wait," Maria interrupted. "You see when Phoenix Fox is destroyed by card effect, her own effect activates, reviving her back to my side of the field."

Neela yelped as flames began to spread out across the field, warping and twisting until they formed the familiar shape of Maria's monster.

"Oh and when she's summoned this way, she can destroy a monster on the field," Maria added, almost as an afterthought. "So let's finish this little summoning relay already. I destroy your Grand Pumpking, once and for all!"

The flames seemed to blanket the field before wrapping upwards around Grand Pumpking until it was nothing but a pile of black sludge.

"I…can't believe it…" Neela sounded faint.

"No, neither can I," Maria admitted. "You know what else I also can't believe? I can't believe that you forgot to switch Clown Zombie into defence mode."

Neela gave a shriek of horror – in all the excitement of summoning her fusion, she seemed to have completely forgotten that her other zombie was still there, blinking dumbly around at the field as though hoping for a round of applause.

"Oh well," Maria offered a shrug. "I guess you won't be doing it again. Actually, you definitely won't be doing it again tonight, because this duel is over! Phoenix Fox, attack Clown Zombie!"

Perhaps sensing that this was the killing blow, Phoenix Fox went all out, tails shimmering in the flickering firelight, and letting out a playful yip, before a searing rush of flames burst across the field and engulfed the startled Clown Zombie in an inferno. The zombie had just enough time to shriek, before it exploded into ash.

 **Life Points**

Maria: 150

Neela: 0

As the holograms faded, returning the side street to its usual darkness, Maria tucked a lock of hair back under her hat, and fanned herself with her hand. She became conscious, that a certain half dragon was observing her with a grin on his face, and her fanning came to a gentle halt.

"…what?" she asked, feeling even more heat suddenly rise to her cheeks.

"Nothing," Jalal had a twinkle in his eyes. "I just haven't seen you duel in a while. It was nice."

She arched an eyebrow, and his grin got just a little wider.

"Okay…" she cleared her throat, and looked back down at her opponent. "Deal is a deal Neela. Now you come with us and answer our questions."

She took a hasty step back as the dark elf rose, shadows beginning to warp around her body.

"I don't hold deals with scum like you!" she snarled, magic building all around her in a dark, flickering aura. Snow and dust began to swirl around the alley, and somewhere, wind began to roar.

There was a crack, and Neela went crosseyed, before slumping to the ground unconscious. Behind her, Jalal replaced his sword in his belt.

"I'll thank you not to speak to my date that way."

The roaring wind subsided as quickly as it had arisen, and Jalal crouched down to check the damage the hilt of his sword had done to her head. Releasing her own hand from where it had been tensed by Chivalry, Maria tilted her head innocently.

"I thought it was a business meeting?"

It was hard to tell in the shadows of the alley, but she was sure that Jalal was deliberately avoiding eye contact, and a grin of her own spread across her face. A crunch of boots from the street saved him from answering, as Adrian and Mei appeared, the Librarian carrying his wife bridal style.

"Oh hooray! You didn't leave without us!"

Jalal raised an eyebrow at the pair's unconventional arrival, which quickly turned to concern as he saw the large dressings and thick bandages wrapped around Mei's knees, and caught the tell-tale smell of blood. "What happened to you two?"

Mei sighed - she sounded physically and emotionally drained. In addition to the bandages, her tights were missing, and her boots were badly scuffed. "Twelve minutes of CPR on tarmac happened to us. One of the barista's stopped breathing. Oh and can I just say that face-shields don't make a patient vomiting into your mouth any less unpleasant?"

She poked her husband in the shoulder. "I can walk, love. Just might need to lean on you."

"Mmmm no," the Librarian smirked charmingly. "I'm enjoying being all dashing and heroic. The ambulance is here," he added helpfully, as Mei huffed and leaned into his shoulder. "Mark is letting the police back on site."

"Then we should get moving," Maria suggested, coming forward with a capture crystal. "We won't get any more information from here."

"I agree," Jalal nodded, gesturing to the end of the street. "The last signal from Judy's phone came from the Underground. We'll find more answers there."

"Or a whole lot more questions," Adrian pointed out, his ears twitching.

Neela vanished with a flash of colour, and in the next thirty seconds, the dark little alley was devoid of life once more.

OOO

The underground tunnels were smooth rounded structures, which plunged steeply down into the depths of the earth. The sounds of the bustling people, and rumble of approaching trains was instantly smothered by the solid rock. There were no decorations on the smooth walls, or helpful signs that directed the way.

As Judy stood at the first crossroad in her path, she could guess why. The underground was a maze, designed to confuse intruders. If she took one wrong turn, she could be wandering down here forever. But the paths were identical, and the floor was free of dust or earth which could have given her helpful footprints to follow. They all appeared to be equally well trodden.

 _Think like a drow,_ she told herself. _I'm so smart, and other species are so dumb that they'd never find our secret hideout in the first place…_

She shook her head. The self conjured dark elf voice in her head was not being helpful in the least.

 _But I have a lot of my own people using these tunnels, so I should have one simple rule so that they can find their way around easily, without having to memorise maps..._

She eyed the pathway dead ahead. To keep going straight seemed too simple a rule.

 _Keep left?_ she wondered, and a spark of inspiration flashed through her head, as she recalled the signs posted all over Leicester Square station. _Same rule as the London Underground! Guess it's worth a shot…_

Hoping dearly that she wasn't over thinking this, Judy fished in her handbag and pulled out her lipstick from the back pocket. Jalal had given her two raised eyebrows when he had seen the eye-catching shade of pink she had chosen. She was grateful now that she had ignored him and kept it. Carefully, she stretched up and marked a J on the ceiling of the corridor that lead to the surface, before turning down the left path and hurrying down the sloping corridor.

After a few more sharp turns, all of which she marked with her lipstick, the path began to widen from its circular structure, gaining corners in the floor and ceiling. Images carved into the stone began to appear on either side of her - geometric designs that she guessed were supposed to represent spider webs, and carved into the floor of the next crossroad, a spider stretching its legs out in all four directions.

"Creeeepy," Judy muttered, marking her passage in the top left corner of the corridor, before darting down the next turn. Still, she took the presence of decoration as a positive sign - why decorate somewhere that you weren't going to walk through regularly? Then she remembered that the ancient Egyptians had saved their best decorations for tombs, and she stopped that train of thought instantly.

After ten minutes, she had completely lost her orientation. She had no idea which direction she was travelling, and this deep down, Emily's iPad was a lost cause. She could have been under Downing Street or Oxford Circus for all she knew. She had to give the drow credit - the endless corridors and slow descent were starting to feel the tiniest bit claustrophobic, and when the corridor ended into a steep, stone staircase, she groaned before starting her descent.

"I am never going to take the sky for granted again," she muttered. A damp puddle on the corner of the step sent her slipping with a painful jolt onto her butt, leg dangling over the edge of the terrifying drop. A stray stone was dislodged by her hand, and went tumbling down. It was a disturbingly long while before she heard it impact on the floor below.

"Okay…" swallowing was suddenly very difficult as Judy pulled herself away from the drop, and placed one hand on the wall. She not afraid of heights, or the dark, or enclosed spaces - hell, the last time she had been in Paris, Jalal had taken her down to the city catacombs, and not even the walls made entirely out of human bones had fazed her. So why was she getting a persistent sense of dread, with every step that she took?

 _Woman up_ she told herself, in a stern voice that sounded oddly like her year nine Latin teacher. _You're fine._

She might as well have been whispering to herself for all the good it did. As the stairs wrapped around and around, the air seemed to get thicker, until Judy had to gulp to fill her lungs. Her footsteps echoed off the empty stone, sending shivers rattling up her body, and sweat was creeping over her skin like a clammy hand. And deep inside, a feeling she had not felt for years emerged - the gut twisting urge to just curl up in a ball and weep, because all was lost to her. The same feeling that had gripped her as the green dragon had sunk its teeth through her father's scales, biting deep into his neck, and twisting with a savage crack.

She choked back a sob. She had never felt as lost as she had that day. The tremor that had shook the ground as her father's body had impacted lifelessly with the earth seemed to shudder through her again, sending her slipping shakily down three steps at once. Something inside her crumpled in on itself, and she bit her lip as tears began to escape from the corners of her eyes. That green dragon had been huge - she had never seen anything so monstrous in all her eight years, and it had come for the person she loved the most. The same terror gripped her now, and squeezed her lungs until she could barely breathe. What would she have done if Jalal hadn't been there?

The last step meant nothing to her. Her feet were still moving, but her mind was falling down. She could not do this on her own. It was too much. Too much to do. Too much to think of. Too much to lose when it all went wrong. Her legs buckled, and her body seemed to curl in on itself, desperate to shut out the world and the horrors that she knew were coming for her...

She stepped through the doorway, and the world seemed to snap, like an elastic band being stretched too far. The heavy, constricting air cleared instantly, and oxygen flooded her lungs like a solid punch, which sent her stomach reeling. Slumping heavily into the wall, Judy fought the urge to be violently sick. What the _hell_ had just happened to her?

From somewhere up ahead, a set of hands clapped slowly, each one bouncing off the walls like a gunshot.

"Impressive. Not many make it down those stairs. You must have some resilience."

Steeling her spine, Judy lifted her head, and caught sight of the lone drow, resting casually on the corridor wall, not ten paces away. There was something very hippy about her appearance - her white hair was twisted into braids, threaded through with chord, and her green shirt was elaborately stitched along the neck and the huge bell-shaped sleeves. But the coldness with which she observed Judy betrayed no hint of sunshine and rainbows.

"What _was_ that?" the teenager gasped, her heart still threatening to thump its way out of her chest.

"Fear, little dragon," the dark elf's smile seemed too wide for her face. A thin staff, with wood that was almost bone white, appeared by her side, and she twirled it in a casual loop as she spoke. "A spell woven into every stone of that staircase, just waiting for some poor unsuspecting intruder to tread its steps. Did you feel it, tugging at your soul? I am surprised. Normally people get half way and...well, they take the speedier and more permanent route to the ground."

The end of her staff slammed into the floor with a clatter that rattled through Judy's head. She was aghast - she was naturally resistant to most magic, and that spell had dug deep into her mind and pulled at some of the worst memories she had. If that was what it did to her, what kind of effect would it have had on an unprotected human?

As if reading her thought, the elf shouldered her staff with another creepy smile.

"Oh don't worry. Mora's little prisoners were well wrapped when they passed through here earlier. They probably barely felt a thing. Pity - usually Mora and I take bets on how many steps it takes for them to jump." She smirked. "She always loses. I can always tell how long it takes for someone to break."

She chuckled to herself, before rolling her sleeves up to reveal a duel disk. "For once, I'm proved wrong, which is a mistake I will have to correct. If you want to carry on, little dragon, you will have to face Rhea Silverroot - Guardian of Nightmares."

"That was a singularly unterrifying introduction," Judy muttered, feeling some of her fight return. "Not to mention cliche. And if you think your staircase of nightmares is going to scare me from rescuing my friends, then we'll add certifiably insane to your list of dubious accomplishments."

"Nice fight you've got," Rhea complimented. "I will relish tearing the rest of it from you."

Judy decided not to dignify that with an answer, instead slipping her duel disk onto her wrist and locking it into place. As she reached back into her bag for her deck however, she paused thoughtfully.

Rhea had clearly been expecting her - just how much was she expecting? Had Mora had a chance to tip her off about her deck and her strategy? Did she already have a deck specifically to counter hers? Were it anyone else, she would not be worried, but Mora was proud, and would love to see her fall. And Rhea seemed to relish making people helpless...

Her resolve hardened. She would not be made helpless like that again! She conceded that it was a little bit of a reach, probably spawned by paranoia left by the spell, but she did not want to take that kind of risk unless she had to. And she did have other options. Bypassing her own plastic deck box, she reached instead for Emily's leather one, and extracted the cards. She had played the Librarian's apprentice countless times, and knew every one of her strategies.

 _Em, I don't know where you are, but I'm coming for you,_ she thought as she loaded the deck. _In the mean time, if you feel like sending me and your cards some good feels, I'd be most grateful..._

OOO

 **Card Specs:**

Genome Tangent  
EARTH  
4 stars  
Beast/Marvel  
1800/1500  
Text: _A luxorious fox with a few genetic quirks that leave its final form rather malleable. All we know is that it's as cute as a button and we'll take a dozen._

Fire Fox  
FIRE  
4 stars  
Beast/Marvel  
1900/1200  
Effect: When this card inflicts damage to your opponent's life points, place one 'Inferno Counter' on this card. During either player's turn, when this card battles, you may remove any number of 'Inferno Counters' on this card. Increase this card's ATK by 300 times the number of counters removed until the End Phase.

Inferno Fox  
FIRE  
8 stars  
Beast/Fusion/Marvel

2800/2000  
Effect: Must first be Fusion Summoned with 'Marvel Catalyst.' Each time this card attacks or is attacked, place one 'Inferno Counter' on this card. During either player's turn, once per turn you may remove any number of 'Inferno Counters' from this card. Increase this card's ATK by 500 times the number of 'Inferno Counters' removed until the End Phase. During the turn you activate this effect, double any Battle Damage this card inflicts when it attacks or is attacked.

Forest Saurian Lord  
EARTH  
10 stars  
Dinosaur/Fusion/Marvel  
2800/2000  
Effect: Must first be Fusion Summoned with 'Marvel Catalyst'. Any monster that battles this card loses 1000 ATK. During your opponent's Battle Phase, all of their face-up monsters must attack this card. (if able.)

Phoenix Fox  
FIRE  
12 stars  
Beast/Fusion/Marvel  
3400/2900  
Effect: Can only be Special Summoned by the effect of Miraculous Marvel Catalyst or this card's own effect and cannot be summoned in other ways. Once per turn, when this card is leaves the field, you may immediately Special Summon it in face-up Attack Position. Then, banish one monster your opponent controls.

Genome Slyph  
LIGHT

6 stars  
Fairy/Fusion/Marvel  
2500/1200  
Effect: Must first be Fusion Summoned with 'Marvel Catalyst'. This card may attack your opponent directly. If it does, halve its attack points. During the End Phase, if this card inflicted Battle Damage to your opponent, add one 'Marvel Catalyst' from your Graveyard to your Hand.

Marvel Star  
Normal Spell Card  
Effect: Add one Marvel-type monster from your Deck to your Hand.

Marvelous Stage  
Field Spell Card  
Effect: Pay 1000 life points to activate this card. Once per turn, you may add one 'Marvel Catalyst' from your Deck, Graveyard or Banished Pile to your Hand. During your End Phase, pay 1000 life points or destroy this card.

Miraculous Marvel Catalyst  
Normal Spell Card  
Effect: You may add this card from your Deck To your Hand by banishing 3 'Marvel Catayst' from your Hand. This card's activation and effect may not be negated or chained to. You can tribute one Marvel-type monster in your Hand or on the field. Special Summon one Level 12 or Higher Marvel-type monster from your Extra Deck who's Attribute matches the Attribute of the Tributed Monster.

Marvel Evolution Catalyst  
Normal Spell Card  
Effect: Banish one 'Marvel Catalyst' from your Deck. This card's name and effect become the same as the banished card's.

Marvel Catalyst  
Normal Spell  
Effect: Tribute one Marvel-type monster that you control. Special Summon one Marvel-type monster from your Extra who's Attribute matches the Attribute of the Tributed Monster. (This Special Summon counts as Fusion Summon)

Ectoplasmic Fortication  
Continuous Spell Card  
Effect: Once per turn, you may send one 'Pumpking, the King of Ghosts' from your Deck to your Graveyard. All face-up 'Dragon Zombie', 'Armored Zombie' or 'Clown Zombie' on your side of the field gain 500 attack points for each 'Pumpking, the King of Ghosts' in your Graveyard. Each 'Dragon Zombie', 'Armored Zombie' or Clown Zombie' that you control may not be destroyed in battle once per turn.

Grand Pumpking, The Emperor of Terrors  
DARK  
9 stars  
Zombie/Fusion/Effect  
3000/3000  
Effect: Pumpking, The King of Ghosts + Pumpking, the King of Ghosts + Pumpking, The King of Ghosts. When this card is Special Summoned, you may destroy one monster on the field. Once per turn, you may select one monster that destroyed this turn in either player's Graveyard and Special Summon it. (The monster summoned by this effect is treated as a Zombie-type monster and its DEF becomes 0.) Once per turn, if this card is destroyed, you may pay 1000 life points. Special Summon this card.

Ectoplasmic Fusion  
Normal Spell Card  
Effect: Banish, from your Graveyard or your side of the field, Zombie-type monsters that are listed on a Zombie-type Fusion Monster in your Extra Deck and Special Summon that monster. (This Special Summon is treated as a Fusion Summoning)

Deadly Zombie Breath  
Normal Spell  
Effect: Send one 'Dragon Zombie' from your Field or Hand to the Graveyard. Until the End Phase, reduce the ATK of all face-up monsters your opponent controls by 1600. (This includes any monsters summoned after this card's activation.)

 **A/N:** Hooray! Done! Sorry for the wait. NaNoWriMo is upon me, and that takes priority at the moment!

The Walk Like You've Been Sent To Murder Captain America thing, was something I found on tumblr. Google it if you want to know the full story – it's actually a fascinating gender study.

 **Shadowchaser** **Files**

**Mark Carpenter**

Born and raised in Wimbledon, Mark has lived and breathed London his whole life, and has never dreamed of being anywhere else. In his time as a paramedic, he has seen London at her best and worst, but it was only when his Awareness returned in his late twenties, that he realised that the city could still surprise him in ways he could never have imagined.

Answering a 999 call one evening at a club in Soho, he, his colleague and their police escort found one of the club's patrons crashing around the floor, knocking over tables and bar stools, and shouldering drunkenly at anyone who did not get out of the way. Only Mark could discern the black and white facial markings, and hairless skin that marked him as a Darfellan. He did not let that stop him however. Shooing the police and his fellow paramedic back, he calmly approached the distressed patient and asked him if he was okay. It turned out to be a wise move, as the swaying aquatic humanoid was not in fact drunk, or on drugs, but dangerously hypoglycaemic. After persuading him to sit down, eat some jelly babies, and consent to let Mark take his blood sugar levels, the Darfellan was feeling much better, and terribly aghast at the damage he had caused. Mark had saved him from being arrested, an action which would have almost certainly resulted in his deterioration and possibly death had his condition remained untreated. The Shadowchasers had turned up not long after, and had calmly explained to Mark what he had seen. Mark had no hesitation about jumping into this new world, where he could do more good with people who really needed it.

Origins: When thinking about the kind of people I wanted for the London Shadowchasers, my mind immediately came up with several points. Capable, grown up, who has seen his share of crisis, but who always falls to the old British standby – Keep Calm and Carry On. Mark fit those perfectly.

Deck: Being a former paramedic, Mark has a fondness for the Roids, though he accepts and understands that they are often limited in what they can do by themselves. To that end his deck is often flexible, and makes use of many other machine archetypes, though no matter what he is using, Ambulanceroid is nearly always present somewhere.


	4. Chapter 4: Crying Over Spilled Milk

**A/N:** Yeah, I know. Regular updates my ass. Can we blame NaNoWriMo and handing in my notice at work for my laziness? I think we can!

I thank my two lovely co-writers, Scarlet Weather and 7th Librarian for helping me through this chapter. This duel is one of Scarlet's creations, as are the original cards.

* * *

 **Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen**

 **By Mei1105**

 **Chapter 4: Crying Over Spilled Milk**

This was nothing like the corridors upstairs had been. This was more of an ante-chamber - easily wide and tall enough for a duel - with geometric designs carved all over the wall to form webs. Clinging proudly to the middle of the ceiling was a sculpture of the hideous Demon Queen of Spiders herself - Lolth - her bulbous cephalothorax and abdomen protruding into the room like an overweight man intruding upon his neighbour's cinema seats.

Judy's senses tingled as Rhea smirked. As she watched, the air in the room seemed to grow thick with magic, and shadows began to creep off the wall to wrap lovingly around the players.

"Oh great…a Shadow Game. And here I was hoping we might manage without dark magic."

"Just makes the game a little more interesting, Miss…" Rhea allowed her smile to stretch just a little bit further, revealing a disturbing number of teeth. "I'm sorry dear - I did not catch your name."

"I didn't give it," Judy replied coldly, folding her arms. "Just call me Steelheart. Now what are the terms?"

"Hmm…" Rhea seemed to ponder this, thought Judy was certain that she must have already decided. "I shall enjoy the challenge of breaking a heart of steel. The rules are simple, little dragon. The winner gets to escape this fight with their sanity intact."

"...that's it?" Judy sounded as dubious as she felt. Shadow Games were rarely that simple.

"Oh losing life points will hurt, dear," Rhea assured her. "I'm interested, you see. You showed such resilience to the Nightmare Stairs, and I'm curious why. Do you simply have no fears in your young life...or is it simply that you are too good at hiding them?" Her tongue teased at the edge of her teeth. "From the look on your face when you stepped through that door, I think I know what the answer is."

"And what of your fears?" Judy shot back, trying to ignore the ominous feeling crawling under her skin. "When you lose points, will you feel the same thing that I do?"

Rhea shrugged. "I've had many centuries to come to terms with my own fears, Steelheart. Nothing I see will shock me, or throw me off my game."

Remembering the way her hands had shaken, and the memories had flourished vividly in her mind on the staircase, caused Judy's resolve to waiver. But beyond the darkness, and beyond Rhea's creepy smile, lay the path to her friends. And Judy was not going to let fear get the better of her now.

"Well you seem certain that you have an advantage, so you won't have any problems with me going first then?" she said, pulling a sixth card free.

"Not at all," Rhea folded her arms and leaned back on one leg. "Start your suffering, by all means. I am going to enjoy this."

 **Life Points**

Judy: 8000

Rhea: 8000

Fanning her hand, Judy studied the cards. She knew full well what Emily's life in the Library entailed, and she knew that these cards had got her out of more than a few scrapes. Hopefully, they would get her out of this one.

"I start by activating Ancient Gear Castle."

Even though she'd seen it summoned before, she wasn't quite prepared for how loud it was when you stood next to it. The castle seemed to rise from the ground with the thundering of an earthquake. Chains and cogs began to rattle and turn with huge rhythmic clunks of metal, and inside, something was being crunched, like rock between two metal jaws.

 _How does Emily think standing next to this?_ She wondered, as the cacophony rattled her skull.

"Interesting," Rhea's eyes had narrowed, calculatingly. "And not what I was expecting."

"I'm flexible like that," Judy shot back, feeling a stab of relief that her paranoia had not been completely unfounded. "Here's the drill. I summon a monster – like Cyber Phoenix."

She did so, and what seemed like a shard of metal materialised in front of her, before orange and wings folded out to reveal the gleaming body of the creature within, talons scraping against the ground threateningly (1200/1600).

"And my Castle gets a counter," Judy finished, watching as a gear clicked into place around the outside of the tallest tower. "To round things off, I'll set one card facedown."

The hologram appeared behind Cyber Phoenix, and Judy folded her arms. "Your move."

"My pleasure," Rhea announced, drawing and eyeing up Judy's side of the field. "You may have taken the first move, but the first damage will be taken by me. I activate the spell, Mind Monster!"

A grisly purple apparition materialised around Judy, and she repressed a shiver.

"Now I have a little guess as to what cards might be in your deck," Rhea stated, casting a sardonic eye over the castle behind Judy. "Now what could you _possibly_ have in a machine deck…oh I know! How about Ancient Gear Golem!"

Like the trick of a stage magician, Judy's cards riffled through the air, before the hulking level eight monster appeared.

"Nice deck," Rhea commented, her eyes flicking over and taking note of all the cards present. Judy had the sudden and unsettling feeling that she was naked under a spotlight. "And since I was right, you now take damage equal to half your golem's attack points."

The purple hand seemed to grasp Judy around the middle, and she gasped as the damage hit deep inside her. She had never been in a Shadow Game before, and while she had expected it to hurt, she had not been ready for the shock of cold darkness that resonated through her body as she took the hit.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 6500

Rhea: 8000

Before the frigid grip could release her, Judy's head reeled with sudden, unexpected sensation. The duelling field faded from view, and all of her focus seemed to withdraw inward. Then, with almost pinpoint accuracy, her mind seemed to fire, and the memory exploded across her eyes in vivid detail…

 _She felt mischievous and daring as she tiptoed through the darkened room, giggling to herself as her eyes alit upon the paintings that hung from almost every inch of wall available. She would be in so much trouble if daddy knew that she had been creeping around his horde. But she was bored of Saturday morning cartoons, and wanted to explore! And besides, her daddy was naughty too – all of the beautiful ladies in these expensive works of art were naked!_

 _To her surprise, the back wall was empty, save for a single red curtain. Tiny fingers clumsily clawed at the heavy velvet, before tugging it back with a few childish jerks._

 _Her breath caught in her chest. This lady was the most beautiful of them all. The artist had captured her lovingly in every stroke of the brush. She sat in the alcove of an old stone building, half leaning on the angel statue next to her, the wind playing with her light blonde hair in the twilight. Her ankles were crossed daintily, and one hand reached up to caress the stone wings that reached out to snare her._

 _Her eyes were a striking and unfamiliar blue, but the shape was one she knew all too well._

 _Something heavy seized her shoulder and yanked her around. Her startled shriek was choked in the middle as new fear surged through her at the sight of the steely gaze above her._

" _Get out, Judy!"_

 _He shoved, probably harder than he had meant to, and her terrified feet had carried back to the entrance of the room before the tears could even begin to break free. She knew she was in trouble. Her daddy was kind, funny, and loved her very much, but even at this age, she understood that you did not touch a dragon's horde. Now he would be angry. She was sure of it. He had never been angry at her before…_

 _A soft noise caught her ears, and she screeched to a halt in the doorway. She knew she should leave, before she got into any more trouble, but the noise was so unfamiliar, and so frightening, that she had to stop, just to be sure what she had heard._

 _Pain, and grief were filling the room with heavy, hitching, heaving breaths, and her own lungs seemed to stall once again._

 _Daddy wasn't angry…daddy was crying…_

…reality slammed back into her like a train, and Judy felt her chest heave with the weight of holding back tears. She hadn't thought about that day for years, but she felt every bit of it now. She remembered what it was like to be five years old, when the most devastating thing she could have done was make her father cry.

And she had somehow, without even meaning to, she had done just that.

"Nice trip down memory lane?" Rhea's voice sent a jolt of terror through her heart, and her awareness returned to the duelling field so fast that her head spun. "It looked like a blinder."

"You saw that?" Judy demanded, shocked at how raw her voice sounded. It hadn't been real – it had only been a vision inflicted by the Shadow Game, as a punishment for losing life points…

…but that was a lie. It had been real, once upon a time…

"Of course," Rhea smirked. "It would be such a shame if I didn't have more of your buttons to press. Tell me, what happened to that beautiful blonde angel in the painting?"

Judy felt her throat knot painfully. "None of your damn business!"

"No, I suppose it isn't," Rhea's eyes were gleeful. "Still, that was a lovely start. And it's only going to get better. I summon Skin Taker to the field, in attack mode!"

Ahead of her a humanoid form was materialising from the Shadows, the body slender, and decidedly female. As it came into view, Judy could not help but take a step back. The body was dressed in multiple human skins, layered over it like ill fitting jumpsuits. The hands and feet had been removed, and several of them had ripped or rolled up the limbs to reveal the one beneath. Only half of the face was covered, and the mouth and eyes sagged into a frown where they struggled to cling to the skull beneath (1700/0).

"That is a very unfortunate looking monster." Judy stated, trying not to show just how repulsed she really was. Behind her, Ancient Gear Castle clattered as another counter was added to it.

"Well she can always take a new face, if this one bothers you," Rhea suggested. "Actually, I think your phoenix would make a wonderful addition to her outfit! Destroy Cyber Phoenix with Curse of the Face Stealer!"

Still giving the same lopsided smile, Skin Taker leaped over the field, ripping its ill-fitted face mask off. Runes seemed to glow on the smooth featureless skull beneath, and Cyber Phoenix gave a shriek of pain, before shattering into nothingness.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 6000

Rhea: 8000

The life point counter sounded far away to Judy as the room swam out of view again...

 _Go to the tree…_

 _Her heart was thumping feebly against her ribs. Her palms were sweating inside pink gloves, and she stuffed one of her fists into her mouth to stop herself from crying. Everything was so bright, covered in fake white snow, and fairy lights that flashed. It was so noisy, with music and people shouting, she couldn't think..._

 _Go to the tree...daddy will find me there…_

 _There were so many people here. Why hadn't she realised that before? So many faces, all of them strangers. She didn't know much, but she knew about strangers. Daddy warned her not to go with them. But what if she had no choice? What if she never found him, and they made her go with them? She couldn't look after herself. She was only six…_

 _The thought of never seeing Daddy again made a lump stick in her throat. She tried to swallow it away, but it wasn't going. She had to see Daddy again. She had to find him._

 _The tree...get to the tree…_

 _She wanted to curl up in a ball and hide. This was her fault. He had told her not to let go of his hand, but she had wanted to get a closer look at one of the stalls selling sweets. She should have listened. Now she was alone, and it was all her fault…_

 _Tears were unbearably hot on her face, and she wrapped her arms around her waist, her stomach hurting like she was about to be sick. Someone's shopping bag swung around into the side of her head, and a whimper escaped her. Nobody noticed her. She was all alone. Maybe forever..._

 _The tree was huge, and towered over her with its glowing beads of light, and golden baubles the size of her head. A wooden fence, draped in red and gold cloth stopped people from walking right up and taking the decorations. Weaving through people's legs, she put one hand on the barrier, her mind racing. What if Daddy didn't see her through all these people? What if he looked on the other side? What if he went to one of the other trees that they had passed on the train ride in?_

 _Where are you Daddy? I'm here. Why haven't you found me? Please come and find me..._

The real world snapped back into view. Chest tight, Judy felt tears prickle at the corner of her eyes again. That had been so long ago...

"Poor little lost girl," Rhea's voice was sugary with affected sympathy. "I'll bet you stood for ages under that tree, waiting for someone to find you."

Digging her nails into the palm of her hand, Judy fought not to listen. Rhea was right - it could not have been more than ten minutes, but it had felt like the end of time when her father had finally shown up, pale and almost as upset as she was. But he _had_ shown up, she told herself sternly. And that was what mattered. He had found her and told her never to let go of his hand again, before buying her a massive Belgian waffle for being a good girl and waiting for him by the tree as instructed. By the time she had finished it, he was getting very giddy on mulled wine, and she had almost forgotten how scared she had been.

 _Until now..._

She refocused on the field, and her heart sank. Skin Taker was back in front of Rhea, her body draped in silver cyber plating – she was wearing Judy's monster like a piece of clothing. "Damn…"

"Ah, you noticed!" Rhea clapped her hands, for a second looking just like the harmless hippie she initially appeared to be. "Yes, when one of your monsters is destroyed in battle, Skin Taker equips it. As for what it does with them…well, you'll see."

That meant Judy could not activate Cyber Phoenix's effect either. She held off swearing – that was just what her opponent wanted.

"I'll pop this facedown," Rhea said. "And end my turn." The card materialised, and she gave a smile. "Your move Steelheart."

"About time," Judy muttered, trying to affect boredom as she drew. Inside her mind raced. She had to avoid losing more life points, no matter what.

"I activate Trade-In," she plugged the card in and quickly discarded another. "I'll ditch Ancient Gear Golem and draw two cards. I then activate Ancient Gear Workshop."

In the castle behind her, something began to grind and whir in earnest, and Judy's duel disk promptly spat out a card for her.

"Now I get to take Ancient Gear Golem and re-add him to my hand-"

"Not for long," Rhea interrupted, pressing a button on her own disk. "I activate my trap card, Mind Crush! Now I name a card in your hand, and if it's there, you need to ditch it. So I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark, and say Ancient Gear Golem!"

Hissing through her teeth, Judy revealed her hand, where Ancient Gear Golem was sitting comfortably on top of Ancient Gear Knight, One for One and Ancient Gear Beast. Not liking the way Rhea leered at her cards, she placed her monster back in the graveyard.

"I don't suppose you have a plan B, do you?" the drow asked, with a mocking sweetness. Glaring, Judy picked another of her cards.

"I summon Ancient Gear Knight to the field!"

The doors at the front of the castle opened, and her knight clunked out to the field with rhythmic ease. His gear shaped shield was set before him with a heavy crunch against the stone, and the arm joints clicked as he raised his lance in readiness (1800/500). No sooner had he halted, when his gears seemed to whir louder and the activity inside the castle picked up as it raised its attack points (2100/500).

"I'm starting to think Emily is deaf…" Judy muttered to herself, before jabbing a finger at the monster across the field. "Ancient Gear Knight, attack Skin Taker! Ultimate Lance!"

The monster crouched with a clink of metal, before taking off across the field, lance leading the charge. Rhea rolled her eyes.

"Predictable. So keen to return the damage. I activate Skin Taker's effect. By shedding her equipped monster, I can double her original attack until the end phase of this turn!"

The corpse of Cyber Phoenix peeled off her monster before disintegrating, and Skin Taker seemed to swell inside her grotesque suits, the skin stretching and splitting as it strained to accommodate the body within (3400/0).

"Not a chance!" Judy interrupted, waving a hand over her set card. "I activate Forbidden Scripture! Both our monster's effects are negated, and their original attack scores are used for the damage calculation! Your Skin Taker is history!"

Ancient Gear Knight slowed slightly, and a few bolts popped free as its power dropped (1800/500), but it had nothing on Rhea's monster, which seemed to deflate, as though someone had stuck a pin in it (1700/0). The Knight's lance pierced Skin Taker's abdomen and the monster burst into shreds of flesh.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 6000

Rhea: 7900

The room seemed to darken, and Judy saw Rhea's eyes go unfocused for a moment, before the swirling shadows solidified to form a memory. Rather than being thrust back into it, as she had with hers, Judy seemed to be watching Rhea's memory as if from a television on the other side of the room.

There were two of them – a male drow, his face urgent, and desperate, and a little girl who could only be Rhea. The man was pleading, grasping her arm and trying to get her to move. But she had seen the shadow rising up above him, and she just gazed in mute stillness as the dark figure plunged a knife deep into the man's throat. Blood spurted onto the floor and over her face, as the dark figure moved in closer to her rasping victim.

" _I warned you…_ " she hissed, pushing the convulsing body to the floor. " _She. Is. MINE!"_

She yanked the blade free, and the blood pooled over the stone, as the scene faded from view. Judy swallowed the sickness that had risen in her throat, and was astonished to see that Rhea was observing the field with a calm collectedness.

"She did warn him," she tutted. "He should have known better than to doubt her. Mother always kept her promises."

Judy stared at her, aghast. "Your father?"

"My sire," Rhea sneered. "All he was supposed to do was contribute a few chromosomes to make me. But no – he wanted more. He wanted a daughter. Mother wasn't having that."

More than a little shaken at her opponent's careless tone, Judy took a breath and tried to calm her nerves. "I end my turn."

Rhea smiled. "Does that upset you? That I can watch one parent ruthlessly slaughter the other? I think that probably says more about you than it does about me, Steelheart." Her eyes glittered maliciously. "Was that why your father shed tears over the woman in the painting?"

"Shut up!" Judy snarled, well aware that by answering she was just giving Rhea more ammunition. But she did not care – she had to defend her father, because he wasn't here right now to defend himself. "She died giving birth to me – he had nothing to do with it!"

"Oh, so you were an immaculate conception then?" Rhea laughed mockingly. "At least my mother had the nerve to get her hands dirty. Your father just knocked her up and then sat back to watch."

Judy was shaking, but there was no fear this time. Rage was filling her body like hot water, as Rhea continued to chuckle. "Don't you dare sit there and compare my parents to yours! Now make your damn move."

"If you insist," Rhea said, slotting another card into the tray. It materialised parallel to her, as she selected the next one. "I'll set a monster facedown, and activate another Mind Monster – and since I know for a fact that you have more than one Ancient Gear Golem still in your deck, I'll just go ahead and declare that again."

Judy yelped as the purple claw reached out to grasp her again. Even as her life points ticked away, the tightness in her chest remained.

 _Not that one...please not that one..._

 **Life Points**

Judy: 4500

Rhea: 7900

 _Her slippers were making scratchy sounds on the carpet as she descended the staircase. It was a hot night, and her bed was too warm for sleeping. She wished she didn't have to wear pyjamas. She didn't know why Dad disapproved so much - lots of his paintings had ladies sleeping without clothes, so why couldn't she?_

 _And speaking of Dad's paintings, he was really running out of space for his horde. They were starting to spill out of the house's hidden locations and into the less secure rooms. Some even adorned the hallway now, and she smiled at them as she shuffled down the last step and into the kitchen. Her hand reached out automatically for the wall switch, and she stumbled to a halt as the lights seared painfully into her eyes, leaving large black splotches over her vision._

 _Something hissed angrily, and she froze in the doorway. Standing at the far end of the kitchen, glaring through the bright light, was a man._

 _Except it wasn't. Every instinct in her mind screamed that this thing was not human. He was wearing a stained long white coat and a pair of half-moon spectacles couldn't hide a pair of sullied, empty eyes. And most telling of all, was the fact where left arm should have been was a writhing mass of tentacles._

 _Fear bubbled up in her throat, and she managed a shriek that was forcefully squeezed out of her as the tentacles snared her in a vice-like grip. They crawled over her bare skin like rubber, reaching up to seize her by the throat and cut off her terrified screams. Desperately she tried to wrestle free, but the grip was unforgiving. Panic raced through her as that horrible grasp pulled her closer to those empty, filthy eyes._

" _Judy!" Light flashed and she tasted magic, as the tentacles collapsed limply, sending her tumbling to the floor. She rolled over and tucked herself under the table, as the man in the coat rained blows on her father with frightening efficiency. The damaged tentacles were writhing on their own and slithering back to the man's body where they wriggled up his clothing and rejoined his damaged appendage. With a horrific crack, they struck a solid blow, that sent her father crashing through the outside wall._

 _The man picked up the sword her father had dropped and studied it intently. With a scoff, he flexed his human hand and the blade snapped apart like a dry twig._

 _Tossing the remains aside, he focused those empty eyes on her, and began to stride purposefully toward the table. "Resistance will only make this more unpleasant for you."_

"Stay..stay away…" she backed up unsteadily, her howling fear torn between rooting her to the spot and making her run as far away as she could from this frightening being. "I don't...want to go with you..!"

" _Your compliance is not a factor." The tentacles shot towards her again, up ending the table and reaching to seize her once more..._

 _Something steel-colored and massive burst through the wall, a roar drowning out her own scream of terror. Foul smelling liquid poured from her father's jaws, hissing as it ate through the surfaces and other obstacles. The smell choked her, and she screwed her eyes closed against the devastation, clapping her hands over her ears as the tang of acid melting flesh from bone filled the room..._

" _Judy! Judy!"_

 _She snapped out of her daze with a start. Her father was back in human form, still shaking from the fight, his voice urgent with worry. They were outside on the grass, the dew seeping through her pyjamas, the front wall of the house crumbling from where the dragon had barged into it. The pool of acid lay on the floor, bubbling and churning as it continued to melt whatever lay beneath it._

As she focused again, her father squeezed her shoulder, satisfied that she was alright.

" _That's it," he declared, still breathing heavily. "That is it! We are moving!"_

 _She was absolutely certain that nothing could possibly still be alive in their home. But that would not matter. That man would be alive and well in her nightmares._

" _Dad, I'm scared…" she whispered, tears finally welling up onto her cheeks. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her tightly. Her father's breath smelt like the acid now eating its way through the door of the fridge._

" _It's okay, sweetheart. We're moving. As soon as possible. I'll find us a new home, where we can be safe."_

 _Exhausted, she curled up his embrace and tried to make herself believe it._

 _"Everything will be okay. I promise…"_

This time, she couldn't stop tears. Not because that memory was particularly horrible, but because of all that it had lead to. She had snuck into her father's bed for post-nightmare cuddles for the next three days running. Their home was no longer safe, and it had been a huge relief when her father had finally announced that they were moving to Northumberland.

And then they had moved. And Judy had learned that nowhere was safe.

One greedy man with tentacle arms and empty eyes had started the chain of events that had lead to her losing her father.

"You see?" Rhea was speaking softly now, in a cruel parody of a parent conveying a simple truth to an upset child. "I see everything about you. You want to defeat your enemies? You have to see them bare before you. You can call yourself Steelheart, but Judy is the one trembling inside. Am I right?"

She was right. Her heart didn't feel like steel. Right now it quivered like the tender muscle it was.

"It's your move," Rhea announced. Fingers shaking, Judy drew, and tried to string her nerve back together.

"I Gemini Summon my Ancient Gear Knight!"

Gears seemed to shift over her monster, transforming it into a leaner version of itself. The pointed lance began to spin like a drill point, and behind Judy, a fourth counter slotted into place in Ancient Gear Castle.

"Okay, I'll bite," Rhea said. "What does it do now that you've summoned it again?"

"Stops you activating spells or traps during battle," Judy said concisely. "So with that in mind, Ancient Gear Soldier attack her facedown monster!"

The Knight was eager, clearing the field swiftly with only the barest squeak of its gears, and plunging its spear straight through the card. It flipped, and Judy's excitement crashed.

"Oh come on!" she groaned, seeing the small purple wraith holding the spear back with its scythe (300/200).

"Oh look at that," Rhea sneered, folding her arms as Spirit Reaper threw off the spear. "I guess summoning it again didn't help. Now if _only_ you had been able to summon something big and with piercing abilities, like...say...Ancient Gear Golem. _That_ could have _really_ hurt me."

The urge to take off her duel disk and throw it at her was overwhelming, but Judy settled for grinding her teeth together. "Shut up, and make your move. I'm done."

Shrugging, Rhea drew. "Not yet. But I don't think it will be long. I get the feeling that the memory to break you is not far away."

"You'll never break me!" Judy snapped. "I'm better than you. And I'm better than my fears!"

Rhea's smile was growing again, a wicked knowing look in her eyes.

"Why don't I test that?" she suggested, pressing a button on her duel disk. "I activate my facedown card - Nightmare Grip!"

The card flipped, and Judy failed to contain a cry of fright as a ghostly hand protruded from her duel disk.

"I get to chose a monster in your graveyard, and inflict damage to you equal to half that monster's original attack," Rhea grinned. "So of course, I'm going to pick the monster I forced you to discard earlier - Ancient Gear Golem!"

The ghostly hand seemed to solidify into a familiar one of metal and gears, which reached out to snare Judy in its grasp. The blow went colder and deeper into Judy's both than any of the others, and she stumbled to one knee as the darkness swarmed once more.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 3000

Rhea: 7900

 _The roars were furious, and terrifying. They vibrated through the ground and up into her chest. She clung tighter to the base of the tree trunk, screwing her eyes shut, as above her head, the two giant creatures slammed into one another, claws raking painfully at scales, and teeth snapping for purchase._

 _Dad didn't like being in his true form. He said he preferred talking to people over scaring them._

 _He was scaring her now. But the green dragon scared her more. It was bigger. And it was angrier. As it snarled, she could see spit and dried blood flying from its sharp teeth. Her father did not waste his breath replying, instead rounding and attacking from below, latching onto the green dragon's left wing, his front claws digging deeply into the belly._

 _Her heart leaped as the green dragon howled in pain, twisting all over the place to shake the attacker off. Her father held on, his teeth raking down the wing joint, and causing the green dragon to buckle in midair. A cloud of gas exploded into the air, and her father retreated, shaking his head to clear it. The smell of a swimming pool filled the forest._

 _A gasp escaped her as the green dragon moved with startling speed, pouncing in midair on her father. Now it was his turn to twist and buck, claws sinking into scales and tearing them free, powerful jaws snapping for purchase. But the green dragon was larger and more solid, and her father gave a gurgled shriek as claws locked into his shoulder, and teeth sank deep into his neck._

 _Blood pounded through her ears, as the green dragon twisted, and jerked her father's neck with a sickening crack. He went limp, sliding out of the victors grasp and crashing onto the grass with a heavy thud. The impact shook her to her knees._

 _The dust settled like a haze over the shimmering scales._

He's dead, _her brain told her numb body._

No.

 _Shakily, she got to her feet and took a step forward, out of the safety of the trees. The green dragon meant nothing to her any more. She had to get to Dad. If she got to him, he would be okay. She did not realise that she had started running until she almost crashed into him. The beautiful mirror-like scales on his chest were wet with blood._

He's dead, _her mind was still telling her. Gently, she reached out and touched him. His warmth tingled through her hand._

" _Dad…" she pushed gently. He did not shift. "Dad...we need to go…"_

 _Her heart was loud in her own ears, and she gently pushed again. He was heavy and still. A trickle of blood slid free from one of the claw wounds, and trickled down to lick at her hand. She jumped back in fright._

He's dead _, her brain was getting louder, but she could not hear it. There was a lump growing in her throat as she turned her hand over, examining the slick redness that coated her own skin. Somewhere in the distance, angry roars were filling the air. Could he hear them?_

 _Shaking, she gently nudged his front leg._

" _Dad please...we need to go home. It's safe there…"_

 _Safe. That was what he had told her. Why they had moved in the first place. Bad things weren't supposed to happen here, like they had back in Kendal. He had promised her that they were safe here. They had to be safe here…_

 _Her hand had left a bloody print on his skin, and she yanked her gaze away from it, pulling it slowly instead up her father's neck. His head shouldn't be twisted like that. He wasn't looking at her. His eyes were open, staring far away into the distance. She followed the gaze like a life line, and jumped as her eyes found the green dragon, keeling over into the grass, some distance away, a sword stuck deep into its chest. The ground shook once more, rattling her heart against her ribs._

He's dead _, she realised, her eyes moving from one dragon to the other._ Just like Dad…

 _A sob broke free, and she pressed her hands over her mouth too late to stop it. Her shoulders heaved until she crumbled next to his chest, her chest squeezing tight, and hot tears washing blood stains from her hands._

He's dead…

She was barely aware that the vision had ended. Her mind was still in that field, with blood on her hands, crying so hard that she could hardly breathe.

A slow clapping echoed around her head.

"It must have hurt so much," Rhea's whisper sounded very far away. "He'd protected you every step of the way for your whole life, after all. When the time came for him to bleed out, all you could do was watch. All you've ever been able to do is watch. And now all you'll do in this duel is watch. You could always cry for help, but no one is coming..."

She was mocking her. She should say something. But her speech had deserted her to make room for fresh sorrow. She felt exposed and vulnerable.

"Nobody will come and save you down here. Isn't that a shame? You could have played the tragic heroine again and watched another of your loved ones fade into the darkness."

Spirit Reaper dissolved silently into the floor, replaced by a tall dark figure, armoured in silver. Magic hummed in the air, as a malicious glare was cast about the field (2400/1000).

"Caius, I think Steelheart needs to lose that last protector of hers," Rhea mused, playfully. Like a smack to the face, Judy's head snapped up, and she glanced between the Dark Monarch and her own monster, her blood suddenly racing again.

"Remove it," the drow ordered with a malicious smile. Nodding sharply at it's mistress's command, Caius gestured with a sweeping arm across the field. A dark void materialised around Ancient Gear Knight, before dissipating into wisps of shadow.

"And now that's out of the way, attack her directly!"

The ball of black energy formed in the Monarch's hands this time, before it was thrown across the field like a basketball. Judy had just enough time to shield her face, but her footing slipped as the magic burst against her chest, and she stumbled back onto her butt.

 _What now_ , she thought vacantly. _What do I have left that can possibly bring me lower…?_

 **Life Points**

Judy: 600

Rhea: 7900

" _...you want to say it."_

" _Of course I want to say it!" She balled her hands into fists at her side. Her auburn haired best friend huffed impatiently and rounded on her._

" _Then please just say it! I don't want to walk off tonight with anything left unsaid between us."_

 _The words sent an uncomfortable shiver down her back. When Emily used words like that, it made her wonder, and then worry, and then freak out as she realised the implications._

" _I don't see why you have to go!" she burst out. Damn it, and now her eyes were stinging with tears. "If it's going to be that sort of mission - if she's really that dangerous - then why can't you just stay here and let Adrian go off on his own?"_

" _Yeah. We could." Emily folded her arms. "Except the last time he went off on his own, he ended up in there."_

 _She jabbed a finger into the bottom right corner of her room, but she knew what she meant. The thought chilled her. She still didn't know why Adrian had spent the last few months in the Shadowchasers hospital, with a fractured hip, and a pneumothorax that had nearly killed him. She did not know why the Library had been declared out of bounds for the time being, forcing Emily and Harriet to move in. And she didn't know why Emily jumped at every sudden noise, or why she freaked out when someone in the corridor had innocently hummed a few bars of twinkle twinkle little star._

 _And being a good, supportive friend, she hadn't pestered her with the whys, and hows and whats. She hadn't asked questions._

 _But she asked them now._

" _Why can't you let us help you?" She hated how whiny she sounded. "You guys have helped us often enough."_

 _Hair flew as Emily shook her head. "Not an option. We'll be slipping from dimension to dimension pretty much every day. I don't know how long it'll take us...literally. Time flows so weirdly between worlds, it could be a few days or a few years here by the time we're done…"_

 _She seemed to realise that she was rambling, and shut her mouth, throwing the last of her belongings into her bag and zipping it shut._

 _She could handle hearing about Shadowchasers risking their necks. She had even managed to get to a place where she felt okay when Jalal took it upon himself to intervene in dangerous situations (though seeing him being poisoned by metatoxin had pushed that to the limit). But watching Emily prep for a mission that sounded not only impossible but almost certainly suicidal summoned up fears that she had not had in years. She wanted to cry, wrap her arms around her best friend and hide her away until the danger passed._

" _Besides," the apprentice Librarian cleared her throat quietly. "It's our home she's locked us out of. We need to be the ones to get it back."_

" _That's not an excuse! None of that stuff is!" Frustration was making her want to scream. "Em, you can stay here! You all can! We'll keep you safe-"_

" _Don't!" a wobble was threaded through the shout. She could see Emily's throat working hard to banish it. "Don't Judy! You can't keep us safe! Not from her!"_

 _Her fingers were pulling at her fringe, and it was second nature to step up to her friend and wrap her arms around her. Almost immediately, Emily's own arms ceased tugging at her hair, and came to rest around her waist. She could feel hot breath gasping into her chest, and moments later, tears followed. In spite of the strength of squeeze, Emily's arms were trembling. And she knew in that instant, that the other girl was bracing herself for the reality that she might never see her again._

" _Please...don't ask me to stay," the voice croaked from somewhere in her shirt. "...I don't know if I'm strong enough to say no again…"_

 _Gently, she threaded her fingers through Emily's hair and squeezed tighter, wondering if it was obvious just how much she hurt inside._

" _...okay. I won't ask again. I promise." She took a deep breath, and prayed that Emily could not hear it rattle. "Just promise me that if you need help, you will ask us? Please?"_

 _Her friend's face emerged, her eyes rimmed with red._

" _I don't know if I can-"_

" _Please?" she did not care now about looking pathetic. Emily stared, her gaze terrified beyond measure. She had no strength left to offer her. All she could cling to now was this. She had to promise...she just had to..._

" _...okay. I promise."_

 _She had a horrible feeling, as she gave her one more squeeze, that her friend was lying. She put it, and the heartbreak out of her mind, and tried to focus on clinging to their last hug._

The hug melted from view, as did her memory.

Judy pulled her arms around herself, hugging her own body close. Rhea's laugh was mirthless. "I predicted it, didn't I? You found yet another way to play the tragic heroine. Your friend disappears beyond the stars and you do nothing to help, because you can do nothing. Your friend is captured because of you, and you follow her all the way down here only to fail to accomplish anything. Really, it's for the best that you disappear here and now. Your addiction to being saved will get the few people left to mourn you killed."

Judy mumbled something. Rhea leaned a bit closer. "Well? If you've seen reason and you're willing to surrender, I suggest simply placing your hand over your deck."

"What I said was," Judy grunted as she let her arms drop to her sides and slowly stood up straight, "has anyone ever told you that you're rather loud? It's distracting when I'm trying to duel."

Rhea's face contorted, but only for the briefest of moments. "Ahhh. I see. At the very end, you want to put on a show of bravado and go out like a hero, don't you? Very well then. Play your part, little Judy. Play it until the curtain falls. I'm only sorry I can't provide you with an audience for this farewell performance."

"Performance?" Judy looked into Rhea's eyes, keeping her gaze as steady as she could. A warmth had already begun to wash over her. She could almost feel a charge of adrenaline surging through her body. "Is that what you want to call what we're doing right now? A performance? In that case, you're the biggest hack I've ever seen. Look at you! 'Nobody can help you' this, 'tragic heroine' that. Do you know what I think? I think you wait here at the bottom of that staircase because you know that if you tried this on someone who stood at the top, you'd already have lost."

"How amusing," Rhea practically trilled. "What's triggered this sudden surge of confidence? Is it that you believe your friend is going to make her way back and save you? I assure you, that's impossible."

"Emily's going to save me," Judy confirmed. "But not like that. She already saved me." Lifting her duel disk, Judy displayed its contents proudly. "This deck… it's a mess, honestly. Emily likes to take this thing apart, tinker with it, and put it back. She barely cares about keeping it in top shape, and sometimes she'll just outright forget to purchase new cards for it. But it's also hers. And that means it's the deck of the craziest, strongest person I've ever met." Judy smiled as she drew her next card. "Even if she weren't in danger, I think Emily would be heartbroken if I told her this deck had lost to someone like _you._ "

Rhea shut her eyes and yawned. "Foolish girl. Please, hasten your demise already. I'm growing bored."

"Let me provide you with a bit of entertainment then." Judy gestured to the castle behind her. "Ancient Gear Castle! I think you've served your purpose long enough. Get out of here!"

The gears creaking within the structure slowed to a halt. With a low groan, the entire castle began to shatter, piece by piece. Rhea stared, for the first time actually aghast. "Your own spell?"

"It's an older one, so I can't blame you for not remembering the full effect. Allow me to give you a reminder." Judy placed one of the cards in her hand on her duel disk, removing Ancient Gear Castle and slipping it into her graveyard slot in the same, deft motion. "Each time either of us normal summoned a monster, I added an 'Ancient Gear' counter to my castle. By sending it to the graveyard, I can use the castle as a substitute for the tribute summon of an Ancient Gear monster, up to the number of counters placed on it. I only really needed one, though."

With a mechanical roar, a lioness of steel, copper, and bronze burst from the ruins of Ancient Gear Castle, shaking what remained of the debris from its body. Its paw slammed down as it stood beside Judy, posing triumphantly. "The monster I've summoned is Ancient Gear Beast!" Judy proclaimed. (2000/2000)

Rhea pursed her lips. "And what do you hope to accomplish by doing that? Look slightly more heroic when Caius snuffs your monster out?"

"At this point I can't even blame Emily's deck anymore. You have a pretty bad memory for someone who uses Mind Monster. Don't you remember the cards you saw back when you activated Mind Crush?" Judy raised a green bordered card in her hand, and light collected on its surface before bursting out. "I activate the spell card One for One! By discarding a monster card from my hand, I can special summon a level one monster from my deck to the field. I'll discard one more Ancient Gear Golem…." she placed the card into her graveyard slot, then fanned out Emily's deck. "Ah, there you are. Somehow I just knew she'd include you," Judy muttered, satisfied.

Rhea's frustration was now plainly apparent. "Well? What monster are you going to throw to the dogs next?"

"I special summon Iron Fly!" Judy placed the card on her disc horizontally. A harsh buzzing filled the air as a swarm of small creatures, which resembled beetles more than they did flies, materialized. Each one was elegantly constructed from cast iron, and a close look at their vibrating wings revealed that the clear material used for them was actually some form of metal alloy, thinly spun, to resemble an insect's translucent wings. (100/100)

Rhea realized what was about to happen too late. "That card-"

"Oh? I guess you aren't as thick as I thought you were." Judy snapped her fingers. "I'm not normally one for this, but Emily's game to try anything once. And since it's her deck I'm using, it'd be a shame if I didn't use it to the fullest. I tune the level one Ivory Fly to the level six Ancient Gear Beast!"

The swarm of insects scattered, transforming into shards of light which orbited Ancient Gear Beast's head like a halo. Slowly, a ring of green light solidified. Beast leapt through it, its body vanishing into light as it did so, leaving only six stars in its wake. Judy shrugged her shoulders. "I admit, I've never seen Emily actually summon this guy before, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to say. But I'm sure he'll make a fine impression even without a warm-up speech." The stars lined up, and a column of light burst through the synchro gateway. Judy gestured behind her. "Come on out! Ancient Gear Eagle, Regiomontanus!"

The monster which answered her cry dwarfed Ancient Gear Beast by a magnitude of order. Any larger, in fact, and its body would be unable to fit within the chamber. Its feathers were forged of burnished bronze, its head of reddened iron, and its beak and talons gave off the mirrored shine of freshly-polished steel. Within its body, hundreds of gears could be heard turning. The monster gave a piercing cry, and Rhea clapped her hands to her ears instinctively. (2800/2800)

"When Iron Fly is used as material for a machine-type synchro monster, and all the other monsters used were also machine-types, I can add a machine-type monster from my deck to my hand." Judy's duel disk whirred, the auto-shuffler selecting her card almost as fast as she named it. "The card I want is Ancient Gear Golem!"

Rhea stared at Regiomontanus, not giving an inch despite the monster's presence. "Is that all you're going to do? Summon a monster and pray that you can do enough damage to save yourself?"

"Actually, I was planning on doing this," Judy admitted as she pointed towards Caius. "Regiomontanus, attack Caius the Dark Monarch! _Stymphalian Rain!"_

With a resounding battle cry, Regiomontanus flapped its wings. Hundreds of feathers, sharper than blades, pierced through Caius's body. Rhea stumbled back, slashed by the impact.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 600

Rhea: 7500

Judy felt the beginnings of another memory for Rhea. Closing her eyes, she shook her head. "None of that, thank you. Shadows? If you can hear me, do us all a favor and just skip her penalties. I don't have time for them!"

For the first time, Rhea's face registered genuine shock. " _What_?"

"I'm actually not sure if this will work." Judy grinned. "I don't really use this sort of magic. But I can tell you that I'm painfully uninterested in being a voyeur of all the moments a bully like you has felt bad. So if the magic doesn't just get things over with and let us move on with our game, I'm just going to be sporting and close my eyes while I hum something obnoxiously catchy until it's done. Fair?"

The shadows seemed to stir. No image came to replace the last one. Judy cracked a smile. "It seems whatever's judging our fight agrees. During my second main phase, I'll activate Trade-In! by discarding the Ancient Gear Golem I got from my deck, I'll draw two cards." She did so, and her face lit up. "Em… you're an absolute treasure, you know that? I'll set both of these cards. Well, Rhea, it's your move." Judy spread her arms wide. "Do your worst!"

"Don't tempt me!" her opponent glared, drawing and scanning her cards. "This second wind of yours will be short lived - I can still rob you of you hope. Starting with this."

Two cards slid from her graveyard, and she tucked them up her sleeve. "I remove two of my fiends from play to summon a new terror to the field - come forth, Dreamstalker!"

Dark laughter filled the room, followed by a single flickering black flame. It hissed and spit a few times before withering into a tall slender woman, cloaked in purple and carrying a long thin staff, with a large dreamcatcher on the end. Two balls of red light twisted and tumbled around her head, before dropping to loop around her arms (2600/1700).

"Are we going to get in a circle and chant now?" Judy folded her arms and affected a yawn.

A noticeable twitch was developing above Rhea's eye. "Not necessary. Dreamstalker's effect allows me to add a Mind Monster from my deck to my hand." She smirked, as she drew it free and held it up. "You remember this, right?"

"Yup," Judy nodded. "But if you were hoping lightning was going to strike twice, you're losing it. I've removed every copy of Ancient Gear Golem from my deck, remember?"

"Oh I remember," Rhea assured her. "But I got a pretty good look at your deck last time too, and I know what else is in there. So on this occasion, I'll pick another monster that you still have copies of...say, Ancient Gear Knight? And with only six hundred life points left, that's more than enough!"

The misty purple arm stretched out once more to snare Judy. Scowling, the half dragon took a small side step, before pressing a button on her duel disk.

"I told you, I've had it tonight with flashbacks! I activate Nature's Reflection! Now all burn damage this turn goes to you instead!"

A huge, gleaming silver mirror popped up in front of her, and the arm bounced ineffectually off it a few times, before whirling around and arcing across the field to pounce on Rhea instead. The drow shrieked as the fingers dug deep into her chest.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 600

Rhea: 6600

Once more, the shadows swirled around the players, apparently a little too bored to heed Judy this time. The half dragon sighed impatiently and closed her eyes, her head bobbing slightly as she began to hum the intro to Livin' On A Prayer. As she reached the chorus, the sounds of blades plunging into flesh suddenly began to puncture the room, and she opted for actual lyrics instead.

"Okay! You can stop singing, now!" Rhea's voice broke sharply through the concert.

"Hmm…? Oh! Are you finished?" Judy abruptly stopped headbanging.

"No, but you will be!" Rhea's tone was impatient, and though she could not be certain, Judy thought she might be a little unnerved. "You can't dodge forever! I equip my Dreamstalker with Hate Engine!"

Dreamstalker's hood slipped back, veins of red magic trailing themselves up its face and into the eye sockets. The gaze turned bloody, and the feathers on the dream catcher began to twist in a sudden breeze (4300/1700).

"So aside from the ill advised facial tattoos," Judy inclined her head towards the fiend. "What does Hate Engine do?"

"Brings about your end," Rhea hissed. "Now Dreamstalker gains attack points equal to that of its defence!"

Judy tilted her head to the side. "if that's all your spell does, you don't need to look so pleased when you activate it."

"That's not all it does," Rhea snapped. "But that's all it needs! Because last I checked, that made my monster more than strong enough! So, Dreamstalker, do me a favour, and break that Ancient Gear Eagle's wings!"

The red energy surrounding the fiend suddenly turned the deepest shade of black, and slowly the circling balls began to spin, until blades of magic were arcing off, carving up the field as they raced towards Ancient Gear Eagle.

Judy merely rolled her eyes and pressed another button. "I told you, I'm not going to lose! I activate Limiter Removal! You're not the only one who can boost attack points!"

Ancient Gear Eagle's insides began to clank with effort as the creature itself suddenly doubled in size to reflect the sudden boost. Additional plates of armour appeared to cover its joints, and the wings flexed with a deadly shine as they batted the incoming attacks harmlessly away, before rearing back and flapping hard, sending more deadly feathers darting across the field. They pierced Dreamstalker and the fiend gave a moan of despair before shattering into dust.

Judy was surprised to see that the glowing red veins of magic that had formed Hate Engine remained on the field. Almost carelessly, the magic separated and drifted over the field, half towards Judy, and the other half to Rhea. Judy's bounced lazily off her Nature's Reflection mirror, tumbling back over to the other side to join its partner, before discharging with a crackle of energy. Rhea's body seized, screams tearing from her throat as the magic burned through her, before dissipating in a smoky haze. The smouldering drow crashed onto her knees as the game crept up to dish out another penalty.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 600

Rhea: 3600

"...erm, what just happened?" Judy asked. Seeing the shadows beginning to swarm again, she gave a growl of frustration. "Oh for heaven's sake! I'm not interested, and neither is she! Isn't that obvious by now?"

Perhaps sensing her tone, the magic drifted back again. With a murderous look in her eyes, Rhea got back to her feet, slightly winded.

"Your compassion makes me _sick_ ," she snarled.

"Yeah yeah, you're above such petty emotions, etcetera," Judy brushed off. "Explain to me why you lost three thousand life points instead of just thirteen hundred? I'm guessing your Hate Engine blew some kind of fuse."

Evidently furious, Rhea glared. "In addition to adding defence points to attack points, Hate Engine deals all damage to both players. I can also destroy it during any of my End Phases. And when it is destroyed, it deals damage to both players equal to the monster's defence."

"Ah..." Judy nodded. "And because I had Nature's Reflection still on the field, you took all the burn damage instead."

"Lucky accident," Rhea was grinding her teeth. "I end my turn now, but don't think this means anything, little Judy. I've already proven it doesn't take much to push you into fear, and next turn you'll be back to trembling, just as you were before."

Judy gave a bark of laughter. "With no cards on the field and none in your hand? Yeah. I'll believe that when I see it."

She drew, and beamed.

"Looks like I won't get a chance to see it! This duel is over! I activate Clockwork Fusion!"

The field beneath their feet suddenly warped, giant brass and iron cogs materialising with great clunks as they bit into each other. A single large clock face appeared under Judy's side of the field, the ticking filling the air as the thin black hands began to spin faster and faster. The cogs creaked and whirred in response as they strained to keep up.

"Is your plan to drive me out of my mind with this noise?!" Rhea shouted over the din.

"Bit late for that, I'm afraid!" Judy snarked back. "And no. My plan is to use Clockwork Fusion to return all three of my Ancient Gear Golems back to my deck!"

"So?!" Rhea demanded, as the three cards were pulled out of the graveyard and back into the deck.

"So, it's called Clockwork Fusion," Judy reminded her. "Which means I get to fuse them! I think this more than makes up for not getting to summon them earlier! Ancient Gear Golems, combine!"

All three of the hulking monsters materialised behind her, before vanishing into the familiar void of fusion. The ground shook as the fusion lumbered free, a seemingly endless amount of clacking and whirring gears visible in the centaur machine's body. Steam vented and pistons thundered as it rose to its full height to tower above the playing field. Red eyes gleamed in the darkness and the noise of metal on metal intensified, the monster winding itself up for battle (4400/3400).

"Emily has odd taste in monsters," Judy commented. "But for once, I'm not going to complain about it!" She leaned forwards curiously. "Now what was that you were saying about that last turn not meaning anything?"

Rhea's only response was a cold glare across the field. It seemed she still had too much pride to plead for mercy. "Go ahead. You might win this battle, Steelheart, but I've started a war. You'll never beat those moments of fear now that I've dug them back up again. You talked yourself out of it this time, but you know the thing about memories? They never go away."

Folding her arms, Judy just shrugged. "You're right. They don't go away. But you know something else about bad memories and fear, Rhea? You don't _need_ to make them go away. You don't cry over spilled milk. You don't fight memories. You don't beat memories. You learn to _live_ with them. You accept that they're never going to leave you, and instead you move on."

Her eyes narrowed across the field. "If I were you, I'd try and think about that while you waste away in your penalty game! Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, attack directly! Ultimate Gear Fist!"

The screech of metal, which had risen to hair-raising heights, suddenly pierced the air, as the mechanical centaur rushed forward with surprising agility and pounded its thick, clawed arm into Rhea, sending tremors through the entire room, and sending dust and rock billowing out of the floor. As Judy's monster backed carefully away, the dust began to clear, revealing a large crater etched into the floor like a spider's web. At the center of it, Rhea lay unconscious, slowly becoming covered in a fine layer of dust.

 **Life Points**

Judy: 600

Rhea: 0

"Told you this deck was going to save me," the half dragon glared as her duel disk deactivated. From her prone position on the floor, Rhea gave no response. Her red eyes were vacant, gazing at the ceiling as though seeing paradise in the ugly statue of Lolth. Judy thought for a second, before her manners got the better of her, and she dragged the comatose dark elf out of the crater to the side of the room before putting her in the recovery position.

"There you go," she said, with a final tilt of the dark elf's head. "Now you're not making the place look untidy."

And she set off through the archway, heart still pounding, but with more determination than she had ever felt in her life.

OOO

"Stop that."

Mora blinked, her eyes narrowing into a smirk as she halted, her boots thudding heavily into the stone floor. "Stop what, Kone?"

Her mother's senior advisor and chief architect gave her a look of such disgust that you would have thought she had spat in her face. "The stamping. If I have to tell your mother that you ruined my tiles, she'll make damn sure you never walk again."

The tiles in question were not actual tiles - rather someone had simply carved geometric chunks into stone floor, to give the required effect. It was still a work of art though, and Kone's red eyes were glowing in the dull light as she bristled over the casual vandalism of her hallway. Mora rolled her own.

"You always need Mum to back your threats up. Do yourself a favour, and grow a spine already."

Shouldering past the shorter dark elf, she continued stomping her boots down the corridor towards the audience chamber, Bright and Kishen following silently behind her. Kone was wrong - Mora was not sulking. You had to be upset to be sulking, and she had stopped being upset a while ago. She had a new lease of confidence, bolstered by the pleasant ache between her legs, and most of her anger had dissipated by the time Bright had redressed and returned to his guard post outside the room.

The audience chamber was dimly lit as they strode in, her mother occupying her chair ( _throne_ , Mora mentally sneered) with the same painfully erect spine that she had possessed earlier. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as they locked on her daughter, and Mora felt her bravado waver. She knew that look - it was the one that mothers around the world wore when they knew their offspring had been up to no good.

 _She can't know_ she assured herself. _Even Mum can't read minds. She's probably just hoping I have been doing something, and that look will make me admit it._

Another voice that sounded like Bright wandered into her head. _Jealous,_ it whispered.

She adopted a neutral face, as Kone sank into a bow next to her. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. Instead she looked up at her mother, and studied her, exactly as Bright had suggested. She looked at her face, starting to show a few lines that not even magic could conceal, and the way she held herself, almost rigid on the chair.

 _Well what do you know?_ She thought to herself. _Old._

But there was no rush of pleasure, such as she had anticipated upon realising that Bright's accusation of jealousy was correct. Rather, she looked hard at her eyes - the same shade of molten red as her own - and saw a shadow of something lingering behind them.

A shiver of fear went up Mora's spine. Outwardly, she gave a huffy sigh, as though this entire exercise were the biggest drag of her life, and shifted her weight so that her stance was relaxed.

"Alright...what's the emergency? Must be a big one - you don't cancel my grounding for anything less than nuclear war."

She was pinned with two disdainful glares – one from her mother, and one not a second later from Kone. She focused on her mother's, calculating and cruel. Maureen was strategising – Mora had seen that look a thousand times. The shadows from before had receded slightly.

"There is an issue that has arisen from your actions earlier tonight," she said. Mora held back from rolling her eyes – just barely. _That's right, mum._ _Make sure everyone's aware that it's my fault..._

"The men you left behind at the scene, failed to capture the half dragon," Kone filled in, on Maureen's behalf. Faintly surprised, Mora checked her watch.

"Wow, Neela's getting fast if she can make it there and back with the men, and conceal the crime scene in this amount of time-"

"Neela has not yet returned," Maureen corrected, her tone impatient. "We know this, because Rhea sent a man from the Nightmare Stairs, informing us that a half steel dragon was attempting to gain access to our lair."

"Okay…so what do we do if Rhea loses?" Mora asked.

Maureen laughed, as though this were the most absurd notion she had ever heard in her entire life. Kone followed up not half a second later, in a manner that made Mora want to embed her knife somewhere deep down the advisor's throat.

"Rhea doesn't lose," Maureen declared, as though she could not possibly believe her daughter could be this stupid. "Unlike you and your men, she actually possesses a degree of competence."

Mora's retort that most of the men left behind in the cafe had been her mother's, was cut off – her mother continued as though she were not even there.

"Whether they fight or duel is irrelevant. Rhea will win, and bring the ill fated rescuer to me. Amile is bringing the other two prisoners as we speak. Once the dragon is subdued, I will sacrifice all three of them to the pit. Then, if the worst happens, and the Shadowchasers do come here, there will be no evidence for them to find."

Mora gaped at her mother as the words sunk into her brain. She could feel every beat of her heart, and every drop of blood that pumped beneath her skin, as rage slowly started to creep up on her.

"So basically," she said, her voice rising on every word. "You didn't call me here to do anything – you just wanted to have a good fucking gloat about how you've fixed all my mistakes tonight." She gave a laugh that had no substance. "I don't even know why I'm surprised anymore! You are so _pathetic_!"

Maureen rose from her seat, seeming to grow taller and filling the room with her presence. For a second, something childish wavered in Mora, trembling like an infant who knew that they had done wrong, and were about to be disciplined harshly for it.

 _She's jealous_ , Bright's voice whispered again in her head. He was standing in the corner of the room, his gaze on the back of her head again. She lifted her chin and met her mother's furious gaze. She might have a throne, but she was no higher than she was.

"How _dare_ you speak to your mother – your matron like that?!" Maureen's voice was deep and deadly. "I am covering for your incompetence, girl, because you cannot follow simple instructions, and you never have!"

Mora just laughed again, biting it back so that she could speak.

"Covering! You think this is going to cover to the mess that's unfolding now? If the dragon got down the Nightmare Stairs without going mad, then Rhea's cheap pop psychology is not going to work. And then what will you do? Throw Kone at her? Amile? You gave me some of your toughest men, and clearly she's beaten them already!"

"She never would have beaten them if you had just used your brain for once in your worthless life, and lured them down here in the first place!" Maureen's rage was building even higher. Mora could not remember her ever being this furious. Still, she snorted.

"And that's your answer to everything, isn't it? Just look at you. Kidnapping in secret, belittling people, frightening small children, backstabbing your enemies – those are your talents. But direct confrontation?" she gave her a contemptuous look. "You're not very good at that."

Her mother rose, striding down from the raised platform and marching across the room so that she was nose to nose with her daughter. Mora could see two of herself reflected in her mother's eyes. The dark red was identical to hers, but Mora knew in that instant that they had never been more different.

The slap went to her other cheek this time, but no tears fell. Mora just smirked.

"Hitting me won't make me any less right."

She was braced for another slap, as her mother's glare bore into hers – she saw fury, and something that she had never witnessed before – fear. Her mother was afraid, of everything she was saying. Elation bloomed in her chest, bringing with it a heady sense of pleasure. She had no power over her any longer.

The sensation burst, as a punch to the left kidney almost brought her to her knees. Arms seized her, roughly yanking her arms back as she tried to screw back the tears that appeared as suddenly as the fist had. The pain was excruciating and it took all her willpower to keep drawing breath, as Kone held her tightly.

 _I'm going to kill that bitch,_ Mora thought to herself. _I swear to Lolth, I'm going to kill them both…_

Fingers seized her hair tightly, yanking her head back and exposing her throat. A knife was pressed against the delicate skin, and her body stilled.

"I went down to the pit earlier," her mother's eyes were sparkling with bloodlust, and a chill went through Mora's stomach. She had _never_ seen that look before. It was wild and reckless, and she suddenly had no doubts that she would be more than happy to use that knife. Her courage fled her in an instant.

"And while I was down there," her mother continued in that same, deadly tone. "I promised our goddess three sacrifices. And three sacrifices is what she will get, daughter of mine – one way or another."

She held back the gasp, even as the blade pressed through the first thin layer of skin, sending a single drop of blood running along the edge.

"So consider your position carefully. Lolth does not like being disappointed. And neither do I."

This was not what was supposed to happen. Her mother was supposed to be jealous of her and the power she had gained. She was supposed to be weak…too weak to threaten her now that she was a priestess. But still, as the knife pressed tighter against her windpipe, a frightened whimper slipped free.

The sound was like a trigger. Her mother smirked with mad pleasure. Kone's grip on her arms tightened in anticipation. Bright crossed the room in two strides, already drawing his own dagger. And the two men at the door suddenly backed away hastily, as Amile came charging in, knives clinking at her hips, her face taut with anxiety.

"My lady – the two humans have escaped!"

Maureen stared at her second in command as though her words had been in another language. Bright took an almost imperceptible step back, but he did not sheath his dagger. Deep in her chest, Mora's heart was banging in her ribs.

"Escaped!" Maureen repeated the word, her rage suddenly exploding like lava across the room. Amile nodded.

"We found Fleek unconscious in the doorway. My men are seeing to him, and questioning the other prisoner."

The sharp steel left her throat, and it took most of Mora's lingering self respect not to slump into an undignified, shaking mess against Kone's iron grip. Whirling away from her daughter, Maureen marched back up the platform, and kicked out at her chair. One of the legs splintered, sending the whole thing tumbling onto one corner.

"What do I pay you people for?!"

In spite of her pounding heart, and the agonising pain in her back, Mora could not help but roll her eyes. "...we _don't_ pay them." She muttered pointedly.

"Shut up!" Maureen snarled. "Go do something useful for once in your life, and find those two prisoners!"

Kone shoved her toward the door so hard that she almost crashed into Amile. The second in command just stepped to one side casually before approaching the smashed throne. Mora knew that Amile's primary function was to act as her mother's voice of reason. It must have been a family trait, for Amile was also Bright's mother.

Said elf fell into step behind her as she walked stiffly out of the audience chamber. But as soon as she was out of sight, her body refused to take another step, and she crashed face first into the nearest wall and sank to her knees, letting out the moan she had been holding back for the past two minutes. There was blood dribbling down her collar and into the neck of her shirt, but the fire in her back was crippling.

Her arms were pulled over shoulders – one tall and slender, the other shorter and stockier – and she found herself being lifted off the floor, and supported down the corridor. The walk which had seemed so easy five minutes ago, suddenly seemed unending. As Bright and Kishen steered her away from the audience chamber and in the direction of some privacy, she heard whispers flying up and down the corridor around her. Desperately, she made an effort to take more of her own weight, but her back screamed like a fist had squeezed at her kidney again, and she overbalanced heavily into Bright's side. Her protector barely stumbled, but the whispers got louder, and as they turned away to her room, a giggle floated into the air behind her.

Tears were scalding their way down her face as both her bodyguards helped her lay face down on the bed. Angry, in pain, and humiliated, she screamed into her pillow. There was a dip on the mattress. One of them was pushing up her tunic, and she heard Bright swear.

"Kishen, can you-"

"No!" her voice was muffled, and she lifted her head an inch to speak. "I can do it myself!"

"You don't have to." Bright's voice was patient, and her rage boiled. She couldn't sit up to slap him, but he was sitting close enough for her to shove him hard off the bed.

"They're going to be whispering that I'm a coward for days!" She snarled, pulling her face away so that she could glare at him. His eyes bore into hers from the floor. There was no reproach – only pity mixed with patience. She hated them both. "I will not have them say I am helpless too!"

Twisting her head as far as it would go, she glared at Kishen in warning – if he came any closer, she would pull his testicles out through his mouth.

"Kishen go to the cells. Find out everything you need, and start looking for those two humans," she barked. "I am not letting them slip away now!"

The bodyguard wisely scuttled for the door, leaving the room in silence. Slowly, Mora set about the exhausting task of healing her own body.

 _I'm not helpless…_

Blood soaked into the pillow from her neck, and her resolve crumbled inside.

* * *

 **Card Specs**

 **Skin Taker**

 _Monster/EARTH/Fiend/Effect/4*_

Atk 1700/Def 0

When this card destroys an opponent's monster as a result of battle, you can equip it to this card as an equip spell. Once during either player's turn: Send a card equipped to this monster to the graveyard, double its original Atk until the end phase.

 **Nightmare Grip**

 _Normal Trap_

Select a monster in a player's graveyard, and inflict damage to that player equal to half its original Atk.

 **Ivory Fly**

 _Monster/WIND/Machine/Tuner/1*_

Atk 100/Def 100

If this card is used as synchro material for a Machine-type monster, and all other materials used are also Machine-type monsters, you can select a Machine-type monster from your deck and add it to your hand.

 **Ancient Gear Eagle, Regiomonatus**

 _Monster/WIND/Machine/Synchro/7*_

Atk 2800/Def 2800

"1 Machine-Type Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuner Monsters"

When this card battles, your opponent cannot activate the effects of spell or trap cards until the end of the damage step. In addition, if an "Ancient Gear" monster was used to synchro summon this card, your opponent cannot activate monster effects when this card battles until the the end of the damage step.

 **Dreamstalker**

 _Monster/DARK/Fiend/Effect/7*_

Atk 2600/Def 1700

Cannot be normal summoned or set. Can only be special summoned (from your hand) by banishing two or more fiend-type monsters from your graveyard. When this card is summoned successfully, add a "Mind Monster" from your deck to your hand. This card inflicts piercing damage.

 **Hate Engine**

 _Equip Spell_

Equip only to a Fiend-Type monster. It gains Atk equal to its Def. When the equipped monster deals damage it is inflicted on both players. When this card is destroyed, deal damage to both players equal to the equipped monster's Def. During your end phase, you can destroy this card.

 **Clockwork Fusion**

 _Normal Spell_

Pay half your life points. Select any number of "Ancient Gear" monsters in your hand, field, or graveyard and return them to your deck. Perform a fusion summon that uses the selected monsters as materials. You cannot summon other monsters this turn.

OOO

 **A/N:** Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry again for the wait. The next chapter will be quicker. Promise! Don't forget that in lieu of Christmas presents, you can give me reviews instead!


	5. Chapter 5: Tit for Tat

**Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen**

 **By Mei1105**

 **Chapter 5: Tit for Tat**

"...wow…"

For the first time, since their escapades had begun that evening, Becky actually looked completely awestruck. Not that Emily could blame her. The drow may be the most arrogant tossers ever to walk the planet, but they were bloody magnificent architects.

They had wandered down three seemingly endless corridors, before they had trotted through the archway to their current location - a deep, magnificent dome hollowed out inside the earth. Emily counted twelve levels, each ringed with doors and windows that overlooked the sprawling floor below. Sculptures had been carved with great skill along the walls, webs, spiders and other insects crisscrossing their way up to the ceiling. In the center of it all sat a massive, decorated pillar, supporting the entire structure from top to bottom, which emitted a gentle glow of magic, illuminating the surrounding floors.

Becky whistled. "This is...wow...I mean this is still scary as hell, but…"

"I know what you mean," Emily bobbed her head in agreement. "I've got shivers...and I'd be lying if I said that some of them weren't a tiny bit sexual."

She reached out and touched one of the webs on the wall next to them. The carving was deep, but smoothed over at the corners, which indicated that it had been there for some time. If Emily had to guess, she would have said that they started at the top and worked their way down, adding a new level to the bottom the deeper they dug. She shuddered as she remembered what their fellow prisoner had said - humans had helped to dig this out. She wondered again what had happened to them, and suddenly the area did not seem so impressive any longer.

"We should stop gawking," she said, feeling her nerves start to return as Becky leaned over the wall to get a good view of the bottom. Each level was ringed by a balcony, like the one upon which they currently stood. There was no sign of any stairs or a way out below them.

"Yeah…" curiosity was laced through Becky's voice, and her face held a frown as she nudged her. "This could be a stupid question, but why is there a hole in the middle of the floor?"

Adjusting her glasses, Emily squinted down below, and found that her friend was right. It sat a little off center to the massive column, and was about the size of their school swimming pool. Temporary walls had been erected around the edge, save for one single platform which stretched out like a diving board. Spotlights illuminated the area around it, searing brightly across Emily's vision. It was difficult to tell from this angle, just how deep it was.

As if knowing that it was being observed, a screech burst from the hole and reverberated around the dome. Emily and Becky dropped behind the balcony edge, covering their ears until the terrible noise stopped echoing. Emily could feel her heart racing in her chest. In sixteen years, she had never heard anything like that before.

Carefully, both girls rose and peered over the edge of the wall. There was nothing instantly alarming, but shadows flickered around the edge, and there was a noise deep below, like rock being torn slowly from the earth.

"Okay…" Emily swallowed, trying to coax her voice back to a normal pitch. "This is getting a bit too horror movie for my liking."

"It wasn't already?" Becky asked incredulously.

"Unfortunately not," Emily shrugged, wishing that she had binoculars or something to get a better view of what might be hiding down there. "This is a typical day at work for me."

"...you work in a library," her friend reminded her slowly.

"A transdimensional library containing every piece of literary knowledge ever created," Emily corrected. Becky gave a well executed facepalm.

"You failed to mention that!"

"I'll show you around sometime," Emily promised, pretending not to notice her exasperation. It was impossible to see down the hole, and her anxiety rose a little higher. From the corridor behind them, something clattered, and voices echoed up to meet them.

"We can't stay here," Becky reminded her. Nodding, Emily pulled away from the edge of the balcony and carefully stood up, scanning the area around them. Her head was starting to swim again, but not as badly as it had been before.

"...if this were a horror movie," she said, returning to her previous train of thought. "This would be the part where the audience scream at the naïve pretty characters not to go down the obviously creepy path."

Glancing down at the hole below, Becky folded her arms and frowned.

"Emily, if this were a horror movie, then I, as the token black character, would be guaranteed to die first."

Both girls exchanged a long look, shared in total silence.

"...let's _not_ go down there!" Emily decided, eventually.

"Agreed. We want to go up anyway - that's where the surface is!"

Satisfied with their infallible logic, they set off to find a staircase.

OOO

"Honestly Adrian! Just once I'd like to go to a world where you _haven't_ done something to piss off the locals!"

"I didn't piss Domiel off! He just doesn't like me!"

"Yeah, right!"

Jalal was not certain which he found most impressive - the fact that they could argue like this in the middle of a fight, or the fact that Mei was somehow managing to make herself heard over the explosions.

The knight had dropped from the heavens right in front of the group as they had cut through Leicester Square. Jalal could see the station signs illuminated on the other side, blocked only by a short walk, and the chance of getting blasted to ash by the two warring parties. The knight was male, with dark blonde hair, and quick on his feet as he threw blow after blow from his rapier at the Librarian. Adrian was holding him off fine, but was undeniably hampered by the fact that he was carrying his injured wife over one shoulder.

"I told you I can walk! Just let me off!"

"Little busy right now, love!"

He brought his sword up to block another blow.

"D'you think we should intervene?" Maria muttered, leaning into Jalal's side.

"Possibly." Truthfully, Jalal was uncertain. He had absolutely no idea what Adrian could have done to cause a Knight of Domiel to attack on sight, but this was probably not the best time to find out - they had teenagers to rescue. On the other hand, he was acutely aware that he needed to do his best not to irritate said faction - they were supposed to be contracted to protect his Shadowchasers from assassins, and he did not want to get involved in a dispute which might cause that contract to become voided.

Something exploded across the square, and Adrian skidded into a crouching land not two meters away.

"Jalal - hold please?"

The half dragon had just enough time to react, as the Librarian tossed his spluttering wife into his best friend's waiting arms.

"You are so sleeping on the sofa, mister!" the furious blonde shouted, scrambling to a stand and shaking a fist, but Adrian was already back in the fray, locking blades with his opponent, both them pushing back and forth without breaking.

"Go!" he shouted, not bothering to reply to his wife. "I'll catch up!"

"You will do no such thing, Librarian!" the Knight was panting, but he was still standing and resisting Adrian's attempt to push him over. Adrian's response was to headbutt him, and both parties staggered away.

"Says who?" the cat-eared man rubbed the red mark on his forehead.

"Says Leonard, Knight of Domiel!"

The pronouncement was met with a small wave of the Librarian's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Leonard, Knight of Domiel. I'm Adrian Spritter, Seventh Master of the Library Arcanium. So now that we are properly introduced, what exactly did I do to offend you?"

"Does he think his title makes him sound cool, or something?" Maria asked, as the three of them began to creep past the fighters and head for the exit.

"Oh you have _no_ idea," Mei confirmed, with a long suffering nod of her head.

"Your name is known to all Knights, Librarian," Leonard said, lifting his sword into a combat stance again. "As a vigilante and a disturbance to the peace."

Adrian groaned. "So I didn't offend you personally. Domiel just can't be bothered to come and exact petty revenge himself."

"I am a knight!" Leonard declared. "And knights live and die by their lords and the causes to which they are dedicated! So whatever offence you have dealt Domiel, is an offence to me!"

"I didn't do anything to offend Domiel!" Adrian exclaimed. "He is offended by the mere fact that I exist, and I'm not going to apologise for my own existence! That's stupid!"

Both men's eyes were drawn back to the street beyond the square, where a crowd of onlookers (some drunk) were observing them. It might look like a simple punch up to Mundanes, but the last thing they wanted was to draw attention from local authorities (particularly, Adrian thought, considering their appearance at a crime scene earlier that evening).

"We're starting to attract attention," the Librarian pointed out calmly, lowering his sword in a deliberately casual manner.

"I agree," Leonard said, sheathing his blade and instead revealing duel disk. "We should settle this in a less extravagant manner."

"...you're not going to just let me go, are you?" Adrian surmised.

"I have standing orders to bring you in," Leonard reminded. "A loose cannon such as yourself cannot be allowed to roam free."

"My apprentice has been kidnapped! Can't this wait until I've rescued her?"

"No."

"Fiiine," the Librarian groaned, retrieving his own duel disk from one of his cavernous pockets. "Now which deck should I use…?"

He shoved his arm deeper into the pocket, wincing as something inside smashed in a cacophony of broken china. "Oookay not over there...aha! Not that one. Not that one. No. No...that's a Pokemon deck...nope...no...ooh definitely not…"

Leonard folded his arms, his foot tapping impatiently as something inside Adrian's pockets honked like a clown.

"Maybe if I look down this side..." Adrian mused aloud, before pushing his arm in all the way up to the shoulder. "No, that's way too tough for you…"

The knight's eyebrow began to twitch. "Do not take me lightly, Librarian! I told you! We knights live and die fo-"

"Ah! This'll do!" With a triumphant flourish, Adrian withdrew his arm, clutching a small dark green plastic deckbox. Perhaps seeing the twitch now beginning to spread over Leonard's face, he swiftly shoved it into the duel disk. "Okay I'm ready!"

 **Life Points**

Leonard: 8000

Adrian: 8000

"The first move is mine!" Leonard announced, before Adrian could even draw breath to suggest a coin toss. The card was slammed into the duel disk with surprising force. "I call to the field, Noble Knight Borz, in attack mode!"

A razor note of metal on metal rang through the air as the tall, dark haired knight materialised on the field. His bulky silver armour glimmered in the light, and behind him, his red cape swished dramatically in a breeze that did not exist (1700/900).

"Oh look," Adrian feigned surprise. "A knight using knights! How revolutionary!"

"These are not just knights, Librarian," Leonard declared. "These are knights of legend, brought together-"

"-by King Arthur to form his round table," Adrian interrupted in a bored monotone. Seeing Leonard verbally stumble, he rolled his eyes. "What? You didn't think a Librarian might just possibly have heard the story of Arthur and his knights? Your opinion of my intelligence really is dismal."

"I have no opinion of your intelligence," Leonard stated curtly. "It is not my place to have an opinion of you. You are a criminal. Nothing more." He plugged another card into his duel disk. "I equip Borz with the spell card Noble Arms - Caliburn!"

Before the knight the ground was splitting, rising up to reveal a mound of rock, in which the hilt of a sword protruded. Borz seized it in readiness, squaring himself to release it for battle (2200/900).

"Now Borz's effect activates, turning him from a light to a dark monster, as well as boosting his level by one." Leonard plucked three cards from his duel disk. "It also allows me to take three cards from my deck, and then have you randomly pick one to add to my hand."

He revealed them one at a time - Noble Arms - Excaliburn, Gwenhwyfar, Queen of Noble Arms, and Noble Arms - Gallatin - before shuffling them together, and fanning them out before him.

"I'm sure you have some means to use them all in some way," Adrian drawled, before pointing. "So I pick the one in the middle."

Leonard smiled. "Good choice...for me. That was Noble Arms - Gallatin"

He flipped the spell over before adding it to his hand, and discarding the other two. "And now that she's in the graveyard, I can activate Gwenhwyfar's effect, equipping her to Borz as an equip spell."

Like a ghost the queen materialised behind the knight, her dress billowing out as she nodded at Borz, dark energy spilling out into him (2500/900).

"Unfortunately I can only use Borz's effect once per turn," Leonard admitted. "But that's fine. Gwenhwyfar still gives him another three hundred attack points. So with that, I'll set a card, and call it a turn. And every end phase, Caliburn gives me an extra five hundred attack points."

The card materialised behind Borz, even as the faded ruby in the sword's hilt gave a soft glow, and Leonard's points ticked up accordingly.

 **Life Points**

Leonard: 8500

Adrian: 8000

"Y'know, I don't have a very good history with the legend of King Arthur," Adrian stated conversationally as he drew. A grin crossed his face. "But who knows - maybe this time it won't get me drunk, or pickpocketed, or stabbed in the chest."

"Your grandiose posturing does not intimidate me," Leonard drawled.

Adrian snorted. "Trust me, if I wanted to intimidate you, you'd know about it."

His eyes flicked again over his hand as he selected his first card. "I activate Destiny Draw. I'll just drop Destiny Hero Dasher-"

"How dare you use those?!" across the field, Leonard practically exploded. "They are one man's legacy against evil! How dare you taint his name-"

"Well you did warn me not to take you lightly," Adrian interrupted, taking two cards from his deck. "And besides, they're good cards! I wouldn't be very good at my job if I didn't like books, and I have a particularly soft spot for superheroes. A bit like you and your knights."

The knight sneered. "You are no hero, Librarian."

"We will see," Adrian replied. "But I digress. I'm summoning Destiny Hero Doom Lord to the field!"

A purple shadow flickered into existence before him before clearing to reveal a figure with deadly looking claws, and a tattered red cloak. his head was all but lost in the huge spiked shoulders and hood (600/800).

"I'll use his effect," Adrian continued. "Which removes our good friend Borz from the field for two turns. And I'm sorry to say that in turn destroys Caliburn."

In the blink of an eye, Doom Lord moved, crossing the field and delivering a swift punch to Borz's gut, causing him to blink out of existence. As the hero crossed back to Adrian's side of the field, the sword and it's rocky resting place shattered into fragments.

Leonard could only gape.

"I'll set these two on the field," Adrian smiled, slotting the two cards into place. "And that will do it. All yours Leonard."

"No need to feel smug," the knight assured his opponent as he drew. "That's the thing about knights, Librarian. They live on - in legend or in their comrades. And that's just who I'm bringing to the field now. I summon Noble Knight - Medraut to the field!"

Where Borz had stood before him, appeared a new figure, with hair as blonde as Leonard's, a fitted chest plate, red pantaloons and a red cape (1700/1000).

"Let me get this straight," Adrian asked. "You're avenging your fallen knight with a character who eventually went rogue and turned on his fellow knights?"

Leonard elected not to answer, though the muscle above his eye twitched in response. "I equip him with Noble Arms - Gallatin."

He smirked as the sword, this one slender with a softly glowing blade, materialised in Medraut's hand (2700/1000). "That is a nice little power boost, but I have something else in mind. I'm going to use Medraut's effect. As with Borz, it becomes a dark monster and gains a level, but more importantly, if I have no other monsters on the field, I can call another Noble Knight from my deck in defence mode!"

Materialising next to Medraut was a taller, stockier figure, who's worn armour was trimmed with fur, and who's magnificent broadsword appeared to be emitting a soft glow (1800/1800).

"This is Noble Knight - Artorigus!" Leonard declared. "I do have to destroy Gallatin to summon him, but it's worth it!"

"...really?" Adrian asked, as the glow of the sword dim before vanishing. "I'm not seeing it. Seems like a little waste actually."

"I open the Overlay Network," Leonard announced, and his two monsters blurred together with a glare of light that seared through Adrian's vision. "Overlaying my level four Artorigus with my level four Medraut!"

Blinking spots away, Adrian peered across the field at the stocky knight that had emerged, the two glowing balls of energy softly circling like tiny moons. He had dark hair, a thick and heavy-looking broadsword, and armour that was edged in gold and blue (2000/2000).

"Meet Artorigus, King of Noble Knights!" Leonard proclaimed dramatically.

"Because having a knight and a king with the same name isn't going to get confusing at all," Adrian muttered. Leonard growled and clenched his fists at his side.

"I activate Artorigus's effect-"

"Which one - the Knight or the King?" Adrian asked with an infuriating smile on his face.

"Have a guess!" the knight snapped. "Now all of the Noble Arms spells in my graveyard are equipped to my monster!"

"Or not," Adrian interjected, pressing a button calmly on his duel disk. "I activate Fiendish Chain. Artorigus's effect is negated and he can no longer attack."

Thick chains burst from the ground and seized the knight's wrists and ankles, binding him to the ground like a sacrificial lamb.

"So I guess putting all your spells in your graveyard wasn't a waste," the Librarian shrugged. "Too bad it didn't work out."

"Don't be so sure of that!" his opponent insisted. "I activate the effect of Excaliburn in the graveyard - I banish it, which allows me to perform a Rank Up of Artorigus!"

His knight seemed to shine with energy, his muscles swelling to the size of a bodybuilder. Around his head, three spheres of energy now circled, and he had gained a second sword, both of them with wider, more dangerously looking blades (2200/2200).

"Meet Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus!"

"So this one is a knight _and_ a king?" Adrian asked, with a completely straight face. "This is getting very confusing."

"Not my problem," Leonard advised. "My Sacred Knight's effect equips all of my spells from the graveyard - and by my count, that's Gwenhwyfar, Gallatin and Caliburn!"

Gwenhwyfar was the first to appear, followed by the two additional swords and Artorigus obligingly dropped his current weapons to seize the fresh blades (4000/2200).

"I don't think a good knight can ever have enough swords," Leonard stated. "So I'll also equip him with Noble Arms of Destiny! And I'll activate the card I set last turn - Mage Power!"

A fresh sword and shield materialised on the field. Both looked ancient and a little battleworn, but this only made them appear more dangerous. Lacking any additional hands, Artorigus strapped both of his current weapons to his back before picking up the new armaments (6500/2200).

A comment about compensating for something was floating across Adrian's head, but he reigned it in. "This is going to ruin my trenchcoat…" he muttered.

"I activate Caliburn's effect," Leonard continued. "Which boosts my life points by an additional five hundred! Furthermore, I detach Medraut from Artorigus to destroy your Doom Lord!"

 **Life Points**

Leonard: 9000

Adrian: 8000

One of the circling energy balls dissipated into one of the knight's many blades, before he pulled it back and swung. A blazing arch of energy crossed the field and slammed into Doom Lord, bisecting him at the waist before he shattered.

"Artorigus! Attack the Librarian directly!"

Even braced, Adrian could not hold his footing. Artorigus's weapons hummed with energy as he charged across the field, slashing both blades one after the other. The energy crested before slamming into their target with enough force to send him skidding into a nearby shrubbery.

 **Life Points**

Leonard: 9000

Adrian: 1500

Adrian would later feel proud that he hadn't screamed. Instead he rubbed his head and spat out a few leaves before shakily getting to his feet. By some miracle, he had not let go of his cards.

"Too long, you escape justice for your crimes," Leonard declared. "I'm glad I was able to give you a taste!"

"...tastes like grass," Adrian muttered, frowning and extracting a remaining leaf from his mouth. "Don't like it very much. I activate Damage Condenser!"

He tossed a card into his graveyard. "I'll just drop this, and special summon Destiny Hero Captain Tenacious from my deck!"

The hero materialised before him, his muscular body flexing as he took a battle stance. His red hair spiked out dramatically down his back, and his arms and legs were armoured in bulky grey guards (800/800).

Leonard watched, his face a picture of astonishment. "With that damage you could have picked any monster in your deck, and you chose one with such low attack points?" his eyes narrowed. "What are you planning?"

"You really think I'm going to tell you that?" Adrian scoffed. "I may dress like the sixties threw up on me, but I understand the need for subtlety once in a wh…" he frowned and reached into his mouth again, pulling out another soggy leaf from behind his wisdom tooth. "...am I producing these?" he asked curiously.

Leonard slammed the palm of his hand into his face. "I end my turn."

Flicking the vegetation away, Adrian shook out his coat and drew. "Alright then. Let's see what I can do. Since he's sitting there, and you were curious what I was going to do with him, I'll activate Captain Tenacious's effect, bringing back a monster you destroyed last turn - so welcome back Doom Lord!"

Leonard's only response was to groan loudly as the hero reappeared on the field with a swish of his tattered cape (600/800).

"And since I discarded Destiny Hero Malicious last turn with Damage Condenser," Adrian continued. "I'll banish it to summon out another from my deck."

He pocketed the card just as muscular monster appeared, its leathery wings stretching in the night. His head was covered by three demonic horns, and from behind, a pointed tail emerged to explore the area around it (800/800).

"Now I don't know about you," Adrian said. "But I loved Doom Lord's effect from last time. So I'm going to give it another spin. So I'll be sending Sacred Artorigus two turns into the future, and blowing up all those spells you collected in the process. Sorry about that!"

He sounded as far from sorry as it was possible to be, as Doom Lord lined up another punch and socked Artorigus hard in the face. The monster howled before bursting into fragments. All of its swords clattered to the ground before crumbling into sparkly confetti.

"He won't be gone for long!" Leonard glared across the field. "I told you, knights always live on!"

"So do heroes," Adrian said, with a nod to his own monsters. One of his ears flicked in curiousity. "Is that why you like knights? Are you hoping that you might live on in legend too?"

"Not all of us are as vain and self important as you, Librarian," the knight of Domiel snapped, but a flush of colour had appeared in his cheeks.

"Oh I don't _think_ I'm important," Adrian corrected. "I _know_ I'm important. I have the assurance and certainty that my job serves a role that keeps the universe turning. Not sure I can say the same for you though. Maybe that's why you're so keen to be the one who takes down the big bad Librarian. It might make your life mean something."

He shook his head. "Or maybe I'm reading too much into this, and you just like executing the will of a pompous deity with delusions of his own importance. Whatever the case, I have an apprentice to rescue, and this is a pointless delay. So I'm going to tribue all three of my monsters to summon my Destiny Hero Dogma!"

The three monsters seemed to melt together in a rainbow of light, before the new monster appeared, its bat-like wings spreading out dramatically behind it. Chains were wrapped around its body, and a wicked blade had replaced one of its arms (3400/2000).

"I was paying attention!" Leonard interrupted before Adrian could speak. "Since you used Doom Lord's effect you can't attack this turn!"

"I know," Adrian assured him. "Which is why I'm ending here. But you should pay attention to Dogma's effect too," he added, as Leonard drew. "During your Standby Phase, he halves your life points."

There was just enough time for the knight to swear before Dogma began to glow a furious purple. The energy dissipated before striking hard at Leonard, sending him down onto one knee.

 **Life Points**

Leonard: 4500

Adrian: 1500

"Tit for tat, I guess," Adrian shrugged.

"That will be the last tat you will ever have! Mark my words!" Leonard snarled. "I summon the Lady of the Lake to the field!"

Water bubbled up before him, parting to reveal a small delicate looking woman with flowing white hair. clutching the legendary sword in her arms (200/1800).

"And now for her special effect, which allows me to summon back Noble Knight Artorigus from the graveyard!"

The armoured warrior reappeared, glaring across the field.

"Oh will he be sticking around this time?" Adrian asked politely.

"Nope," Leonard shook his head. "I'm tuning him and Lady of the Lake together! _Tarnished honor, shattered faith! Endure the trials and regain your glory! Synchro Summon! Ignoble Knight of High Laundsalynn!"_

The glow surrounding the Lady of the Lake intensified before shrinking down into three points of energy, ringing their way around Artorigus. Slowly his hulking figure began to shift into something more slender, and dark. Veins of red began to streak down his body and his armour began to darken to an infernal black. Long raven hair flowed down his back, and his swords hummed with malicious energy (2100/900).

"I could make a statement here about the hypocrisy of you using a fallen knight to bring in supposed criminals," Adrian stated. "But I think it would be wasted on you."

"Your glib remarks won't be enough to save you," Leonard declared. "Laundsalynn's effect lets me equip a Noble Arms card to him from my deck. Another Gallatin will do nicely."

The sword materialised in the knight's right hand (3100/900). As he did, the ghostly vision of Gwenhwyfar reappeared once more, and Laundsalynn's points jumped further (3400/900).

"Now my Ignoble Knight, attack the Librarian's Dogma!"

"How is suicide a noble move?!" Adrian demanded, as the knight drew back his sword and charged with an enraged battle cry.

"It isn't," Leonard stated. "But Gwenhwyfar's effect allows me to destroy her and automatically take your Destiny Hero with it!"

The ghostly maiden vanished, as dark energy lashed from the end of Laundsalynn's sword and burst against Dogma's chest. The hero howled in agony before exploding into nothing. The knight returned to Leonard's side of the field, a smug expression on its face (3100/900).

"I'll set this, and call it a turn," Leonard was equally as smug as his monster as the card appeared in his spell and trap zone. "As you said - tit for tat. Oh and look!" he added as Adrian drew. "Borz is back!"

Sure enough, the field warped and twisted before depositing the bedraggled knight next to Laundsalynn. Straightening up, and affecting as much dignity as he could, Borz exchanged a nod with the knight before glaring across the field at the Librarian (1700/900).

"...glare all you want," Adrian challenged. "I'm not beaten yet, and I have no intention of being so. I summon Destiny Hero Diamond Dude to the field!"

The monster materialised with a swish of tattered cape. Shards of diamond protruded from his body making him look like a strange geological museum exhibit (1400/1600).

"And now for one of my favourite tricks," Adrian stated, picking up the top card of his deck. "Oh look! Normal spell!" he flipped it over to reveal Destiny Draw. "That goes into the graveyard, and I get to activate it at no cost next turn."

"You won't get a next turn," Leonard stated.

"So you say," the Librarian flicked an ear at him as he selected another card. "I activate the spell card, Dark City!"

The ground began to rumble beneath their feet, as tall dark skyscrapers exploded out of the earth and rushed up to surround them. In a few moments the entire square was packed, the yellow lights in the windows bathing area in shadow.

"Many a hero is forged in a city such as this," Adrian smiled. "Somewhere where there is no shortage of criminals who need to be taught a lesson. So it's the perfect place for me and my Destiny Heroes!"

"You're no hero," Leonard repeated and a scowl darkened across his face. "You ignore the laws of gods and take matters into your own hands." He jerked his head at Diamond Dude. "You use tools of justice for your own ends. You arrogantly proclaim to have higher understanding of the workings of the universe, above and beyond even the gods, without one shred of evidence to backup your actions."

"...so you're saying, you're better than me because you have the permission and the backing of a deity, in order to protect the universe?" Adrian stated, before slamming his face into his palm. "That is the saddest thing I have ever heard. Do you really need someone in authority to give you a simple yes or no before you go out to do the right thing?"

He tapped his forehead. "You have this thing, Leonard. It's called a brain. Try using it to make your own damn mind up."

He turned and nodded to his lone monster. "Diamond Dude, destroy Borz with Diamond Blast!"

Shards of precious gem materialised mid air, as Diamond Dude's attack points began to rise, thanks to Dark City (2400/1600). Leonard snarled as the shards sharpened to deadly points, before flying across the field, and slamming into Borz with an explosion of energy. When the smoke cleared, the knight was nowhere to be seen.

 **Life Points**

Leonard: 3800

Adrian: 1500

"I'll set this," the Librarian finished calmly. "And end my turn."

"Fine!" Leonard drew swiftly. "I don't need to defend my code to you - my monsters will do it for me!"

As he spoke, his knight swooned slightly, and his points slowly began to sink (2900/900).

"I think he caught a cold," Adrian muttered.

"No, that happens during my standby phase," Leonard admitted. "Gallatin docks two hundred attack points each time. But that doesn't matter when I have this!"

He swept a hand dramatically over his set card, and it rose on cue. "I activate my facedown card - Xyz Reborn!"

Adrian blinked as the familiar form of Artorigus reappeared on the field in a flash of light (2000/2000). "Which one is this again? The Knight, the King, or the King-Knight?"

"Don't be obtuse," Leonard snapped. "It's the king. And since I brought him back with Xyz Reborn, that card now attaches to him as material." He smirked. "But as I said earlier, I don't think knights can ever have enough swords. So I'll equip him with another Noble Arms of Destiny!"

The same sword and shield from earlier materialised in the king's hands, and he hefted his new weapon in his right hand, as though it weighed no more than a pen (2000/2000).

"And since it worked well for me last time," he continued. "I'll equip Gwenhwyfar from my graveyard to Laundsallyn again."

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, the same figure appeared, and the Ignoble knight points rose again, causing him to lose the wilted appearance that he had gained not a moment ago (3200/900).

"And now for Artorigus's effect," excitement was brimming in the knight of Domiel's voice. "I detach an Xyz material, to destroy spell and trap cards on the field, equal to the number of equip spells I control. So say goodbye to your Dark City and your facedown card-"

"Which I chain!" Adrian interrupted, as white energy began to flow into Artorigus's blade. His card flipped face up and a deafening roar echoed around the square. "Threatening Roar stops you from attacking me this turn!"

Even as he spoke, Artorigus was charging, swiping through Dark City with a single slash, and sending the skyscrapers tumbling to the ground with a crash of rubble. With a perfect turn, he swung his blade again, cutting the trap card in two, but it was too late, and the noise died off, leaving a ringing in everyone's ears.

Leonard scowled. "You have spared yourself this turn. But you won't be so lucky next time. I end my turn."

To his surprise, a smirk was creeping across Adrian's face, as he pulled a card free from his deck. "I hate to use such a cliche superhero line - I think my heroes are rubbing off on me - but there won't be a next time."

He grinned at the card he had just drawn. "Remember my Destiny Hero Dasher in my graveyard?" he asked. "Well while he's in there, I can reveal a monster card that I've drawn and special summon it to the field."

He flipped it over. "And it just so happens that I drew another Dasher. So out he comes!"

The monster in question was tall and dark, with long limbs that had wheels instead of hands and feet (2100/1000). He gave his duellist a nod of recognition, and the Librarian giggled.

"Sorry," he added, to the puzzled Knight of Domiel. "I like him because he looks like a transformer. Anyway, it's my standby phase now which means-"

He trailed off as Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus reappeared on his opponent's side of the field (2200/2200). He briefly acknowledged the other two knights by his side, before directing a furious glare towards the Librarian.

"Ah, there's your knight-king," Adrian said chirpily. "Excellent. The next item on my to do list, is activate that Destiny Draw that Diamond Dude found for me last turn. So I get two more cards."

He pulled them free, and a hint of fang showed through his smile. "Now I believe my second Destiny Hero Malicious is still in my graveyard. So I'll banish it to special summon the third one!"

As he spoke, the demonic looking hero appeared beside his two comrades (800/800).

"Without Dark City, none of them has what it takes to defeat one of my knights!" Leonard pointed out. "So unless you plan to tribute any of them-"

"Actually that's exactly what I plan on doing," Adrian admitted. "I'm tributing all three of my Destiny Heroes to summon Destiny Hero Plasma from my hand!"

All three of the monsters dissipated into flecks of blood red energy, which coalesced before the Librarian, forming a tall, demonic looking figure. The arms ended in wicked looking claws, and a pointed tail flicked out behind him. As the monster stretched, its tattered wings rippled in the evening breeze (1900/600).

"That was a lot of tributes for a monster with only nineteen hundred attack points," Leonard pointed out. "Your monster is all look, and not much el-."

He trailed off, as Plasma spread his wings and hissed. A rusty coloured glow had surrounded him, and Sacred Noble Knight was visibly struggling against some invisible force. With a cry of agony, the knight dissolved into bloody droplets, which flew towards the hero and were absorbed into his wings (3000/600).

"What the hell did you just do to my knight?!" Leonard demanded.

"Too many Artorigus's spoil a duel," Adrian shrugged. "Plasma's effect steals one of your monsters and adds half of its attack to him."

Still clearly furious, Leonard spat. "That still isn't enough!"

"No," Adrian nodded his head in concession, before holding up a spell card. "But this might be. I activate Hidden Armoury! I send the top card from my deck to my graveyard, and now I get to grab any equip spell I want from my deck!"

He slid the appropriate payment into his graveyard, before selecting his new spell with a grin. "Forgive me, but this time it's my turn to borrow from the legend of King Arthur. I equip Plasma with Excalibur!"

Dropping down from the sky with an ethereal glow, the legendary sword was simple compared to the numerous that had been wielded by Leonard's knights. Plasma seized it before it could hit the ground, the radiance of the blade at complete odds with his dark and ragged appearance (6000/600).

"Not a very natural looking implement in your hands," Adrian admitted to his monster. "But never mind. Plasma, attack Artorigus and end this duel!"

The knight efforts to block were no match for the swift demonic hero, who darted into the air and slashed the blade across the air. A wave of blood red energy burst from the legendary sword, and crashed into Artorigus, who shattered helplessly into fragments as the energy crested over the other monsters before slamming into Leonard. The knight gave a groan of pain, and crashed to the floor in a heap.

 **Life Points**

Leonard: 0

Adrian: 1500

As the monsters faded away, the crowd began applauding, and Adrian bowed with an obliging smile as he shut off his duel disk.

"Nice duel Leonard," the Librarian said amiably. He got a furious glare in response.

"Don't patronise me!"

Violet eyes blinked in confusion. "I wasn't - I was being sincere. But fine. If you want to be that way, I'll just leave you here to stew. I have a group of sixteen year old girls to rescue, so if you'll excuse me-"

With a swirl of his blue trenchcoat, he strode off towards the exit. Beyond the fence, the pedestrians were wandering off in search of pubs, or their bed, but a few lingered to give him another round of applause as he approached.

"Enjoy your grace while you have it, Librarian!" Leonard shouted after him. "But you cannot evade us forever! And when we finally catch up to you, you will answer for your crimes!"

One of Adrian's ears twitched as though warding off an aggressive fly, and with a heavy sigh, he turned back towards his fallen opponent.

"You really are stuck in blindly loyal follower mode today," he stated. "We've been over this already, but apparently it hasn't stuck. I have done anything to upset your god. He just isn't grown up enough to accept that other people can do good in this world too."

"You do no good," Leonard spat. "You act outside the system, ignore the rules set into place by the gods and see justice on your own terms. All in the name of some cosmic balance or plan."

He pointed at Adrian ferociously. "I can speak to my lord and hear his words. I can feel his presence and power. He is something tangible and real. What proof have you of your so-called plan?"

Adrian was silent for a moment, a slightly-too-convenient gust of wind causing his coat to flap dramatically behind him. "If I told you, Leonard, you'd have to die."

"So you are reduced to dramatic threats and-"

"Shut it." For a moment, there was something _more_ to Adrian's presence and it was like peering into an ocean and only just now grasping that you could never see the bottom. The crowd of onlookers suddenly quieted, confusion registering across their faces as a feeling trickled over their skin and their minds decided to ignore the primal fear it found itself facing.

"I do not have patience today." Adrian's voice was flat and level and very cold. "It doesn't matter what I'd say to you, your own self-righteousness blinds to you to the possibility I could have good reasons for doing what I do and lets you only see the glory you'd get for taking me down."

"You...dare…" Leonard found his voice surprisingly uncooperative in getting a protest out.

"I can see your thoughts, Leonard. I can see your soul." Despite the distance between the two, it felt to Leonard that Adrian was right in front of him, those violet eyes showing an eternity's worth of knowledge in them. "Your petty heart makes me rather furious. You put your own reward above the innocent. Tell me, Knight, how does heavenly glory serve those trapped in hell?"

"I...you…" Leonard took a deep breath and straightened. "Preventing the chaos you would wreak if left unchecked is worth more than-"

"If I'm so chaotic," the interruption was swift and as solid as a mountain. "If your faith is so strong, your cause so righteous, if I'm so in the wrong that I am the biggest priority regardless of innocents in danger, why am I the one walking away victorious now?"

Reality suddenly settled and Adrian was standing in the middle of the path again, calm and collected. "I'm done hearing your stupid rhetoric. Goodnight, Leonard."

And with another dramatic swirl of his trenchcoat, he marched off towards the underground, grumbling about time wasters.

OOO

Judy gave a low whistle, unknowingly echoing the reactions of her missing friends as she studied the magnificent dwelling descending below her.

The walk from the antechamber to her current location had been a short one, but it had been enough time for the last of her nerves to subside. She could not remember ever having been in a duel that had shaken her so much. If she ever got out of there and managed to warn the Shadowchasers, she was going to make sure those stairs were destroyed, and Rhea went down for a long time.

 _When_ I get out of here, she corrected herself.

The levels spiralling down into the earth filled her with as much dread as they did awe. This was far too big to be just a small community staying under the radar. Scanning below, she counted twelve floors. How long had they been down here building all of this? The lowest floor was partially excavated - she guessed that they dug down to add new levels as the community expanded - and off to one side, a gaping hole had been surrounded by spotlights. Judy wondered if this was a surveillance hole, drilled down first to test the kind of rock that they would be digging into, though that did not explain why it was so big...

Behind her, feet scuffed on the ground, and a low voice whispered "shh!". There was a staircase, built into the wall behind her, and Judy whirled in time to see a shadow slip away out of sight.

"Someone's guarding." a voice whispered. Another one swore.

"Time to murder Captain America then!"

Judy rolled her eyes, even as a grin stole across her face.

"Yes Becky," she declared loudly. "Someone _is_ guarding, and she can hear every word you say!"

There was a moment of silence, before two heads peered up over the top of the steps like a pair of the world's most adorable meerkats.

"Judy!" Emily was up the stairs two at a time, and all but threw herself into her best friend's arms. "I knew you were too badass for anyone to catch you!"

She was helpfully extracted by Becky, which allowed Judy a moment to regain her footing and reconstitute her squashed ribs. She was catching an unpleasant scent of dried blood and her heart began to race.

"Are you both okay?" she asked, unzipping her bag and fishing for their duel disks.

Becky nodded. "Birthday girl has concussion, but that's okay - she had no brains to scramble."

"Hey!" said birthday girl folded her arms and pouted, but she clearly knew her friend was only teasing.

"So you're both okay to walk?" Judy checked, jerking her head towards the exit, finally extracting the bulky devices and handing them over.

"I'll be okay to skip, if it means getting out of here," Becky said, pointedly, clipping the disk onto her wrist, before realising what she had done, and frowning. "Why did you bring our duel disks?"

"In case we need to fight our way out," Judy wrestling Emily's gun out of her bag, as they began to move back to the doorway to the antechamber. "Oh and Em - you're a genius. Your deck saved my butt on my way down here."

Ignoring the supersoaker being pushed into her hands, Emily glowed under the praise. "I'm a genius!" she preened, smugly. Becky gave her a look, apparently uncertain if they were really being serious.

"So you weren't exaggerating? You do actually have fights with duel monsters…and the drow are somehow willing to do this instead of just bashing you over the head with something heavy?"

Judy fought back an exasperated sigh. "Yes! We actually do have fights with duel monsters! Do you see that woman over-"

She broke off suddenly, her gaze locking on the side of the chamber where she had left Rhea's unconscious and soulless body. The drow was conspicuously absent.

"Where the hell did she go?" Judy demanded, spinning in a circle, as though expecting her to have somehow moved to another corner.

"Maybe she left?" Emily said, frowning as she finally examined her gun. "Hey, Judy you forgot to bring my ammo! Waterstorm is useless without juice!"

"It was a Shadow Game, Emily!" Judy retorted, apparently uninterested in her friend's lack of juice. "There is no getting up and leaving after a Shadow Game!"

"What's a Shadow Game?" Becky asked with a resigned sigh. Emily stopped fussing over her ammo instantly.

"You had a Shadow Game?" she sounded aghast. "Are you okay?"

"Well I'm not now!" Judy exclaimed, pacing around the room for any signs of the missing dark elf. "Since my soulless opponent has apparently got up and walked away!"

"What's a Shadow Game?" Becky sounded more agitated this time, particularly at the mention of the word 'soulless'.

"I'll explain later," Emily promised. "Look, maybe we should just go? This is starting to sound like a horror movie again, with this disappearing bodies malarkey."

Judy's nerves were tingling, but she sighed heavily. "Alright. I guess she's only got herself to blame if something happens to her. Come on, the staircase is this way…oh and word of warning, it's got a fear spell woven into every step."

Her two friends exchanged looks.

"Oh hurry up, I want to climb this," Emily said sarcastically.

Judy had just enough time to see Becky pause to laugh, before a click echoed around the room like a gunshot, and the ground collapsed beneath their feet. She had a sudden moment of weightlessness, before gravity seized her and Emily and sent them both plunging into the darkness with a scream.

OOO

Adrian blinked. Around him tourists and theatregoers pushed past him, and in the corner by the door, a scruffy looking man in a sleeping bag was hopefully holding out a McDonalds cup and asking for change.

He had expected to be playing a serious game of catch up after his little diversion with Leonard. He had not expected to stride into Leicester Square station, and find Jalal and Mei standing at the ticket machines, with a lengthy queue tutting behind them. Both of them were prodding the touchscreens with sour expressions on their faces.

"Why are they buying tickets?" he demanded of Maria. The American Shadowchaser gave a start at his sudden appearance.

"There you are!" she exclaimed. "What happened to the knight?"

"I fought him, posed a few philosophical questions that will hopefully make him think twice about blindly serving gods with superiority complexes," Adrian rattled off casually. "Nothing major. Now seriously - why are our better halves buying tickets?"

Maria huffed, blowing a few stray curls out of her face. "I told them to just jump the barrier," she muttered, waving a hand at the partitions that divided the room. "You'd have thought I'd suggested we go stand outside Buckingham Palace and flash the royal family!"

Adrian briefly entertained that image in his head, before planting his face solidly into his hand.

"Have you at least seen any signs of the girls while they've been doing this?"

Maria shook her head. "No phone signals either. We'll just have to hope there are some signs of magic down there. Or maybe you can sniff them out."

The Librarian pulled a face. "That makes me sound like a dog. Still, it probably wouldn't be the oddest behaviour ever seen down here."

As if to illustrate his point, Mei gave the machine and angry kick, and began making furious threats to it in a variety of languages.

"D'you think she knows you can't actually do that with chopsticks?" Maria asked.

"Probably…"

OOO

 **A/N:** Apologies for the delay everyone. Next chapter should not take nearly as long since we take a quick break from duelling to have some plot. I owe a lot to Scarlet Weather for plotting this duel out for me.

Reviews are much loved and appreciated - think of them as an engagement present for me and 7th Librarian.

And now my dear readers, over to 7th Librarian himself for today's Shadowchaser Files!

 **Shadowchaser** **Files**

 **Adrian Spritter, The Seventh Librarian**

 _Everyone has a story, and the Librarian's know them all._

Magic has its limits. There are spells which can copy texts, tidy and organise files, sweep the floors and dust the shelves for you. But there will always need to be a human influence somewhere, pulling strings to secure one-of-a-kind volumes, assisting visitors in reaching tall bookshelves, and feeding the fish.

This is the job of the Librarians.

Adrian is the seventh soul to have held the title of Librarian. No one is quite certain how long his tenure has been, or indeed how old he is. He claims to be two thousand years old, but then spins that around and speaks of things like the dawn of civilization and the battle with Tharzidun that are nearly older than time itself. When pressed on the dissonance, he simply says that time and death are good friends of his and they do not bother him with such things as 'linear causality' and 'cessation of existence.'

His interest in the world that Shadowchasers dates back to the founding of the organization, where he once assisted Jalal in defeating something from beyond the world. Since then, the two have been good friends and Adrian often shows up when Jalal needs him the most...or when the Librarian feels that Jalal has been spending too much time in the office and should go out on an adventure that invariably lead to them being captured.

As of late, he seems to have taken a more personal investment in the world of Shadowchasers. He is directly responsible for several of the Backwater Shadowchasers being present on the team, the succubus Tsuki Nyte being the most impressive example. He is also one of the few beings that knows all of the details behind the tournament on Arcadia, the attempted return of the Shadow Queen and stepped in himself to save the life of Lyrius Stormcloud, the Queen's consort. After Jalie Squarefoot's attempt at godhood, he was seen both studying the remains of the Hellfire Sentinel and helping Unity-of-Rings secure the key to Tharzidun's prison. Several times, he has shown up out of the blue to assist various Shadowchasers in seemingly inconsequential things that many would think beneath his notice. When asked about this, he merely smiles mysteriously and says that he can't spoil the story.

Adrian's full range of powers and magical abilities are unknown, though he is exceptionally durable, can take hits that would break most normal men, and has been known to challenge even gods without fear (whether they are afraid of him is another matter.) His sword is a black and green bastard sword, known as Foresight. The origin of this sword, and Adrian's history with it are largely unknown, although several people have noted that Adrian will always refer to his weapon as 'she' without fail.

Adrian's hobbies include reading, setting booby-traps around the Library to protect his sweet collection, and building things out of Lego. Being part cat, he is very susceptible to distraction, particularly where ping-pong balls and laser pointers are employed. His ears are off limits, to anyone not named Mei.

 **Origins:** Adrian once solely existed as my means to join the Anti-Cliche and Mary-Sue Elimination Society. I had just been just introduced anime, mostly notably _Bleach_ and _Dragon Ball Z_. As a result, Adrian had a lot of anime flair - flashy clothing, incredible power, named attacks and a propensity to be beaten to near death and shrug it off.

He is my most written character and the one that has been with me the longest. He has grown, evolved and changed with me. I've trimmed the excesses off him and matured him both as a character and an individual. If I had to summarize him in a sentence, it would be the shortest sentence I would ever need to write.

 _Imagination._

He and the Library Arcanium exist to help me further my stories, my ideas and my creativity. If I can conceive it, it will exist within the Library's walls. Ultimate freedom tempered by the story. In a way, he is me because he works behind the scenes, adjusting and tweaking everything to get a story just so. And we both would rather be remembered for what we do, than who we are.

 **Deck:** I'm going to admit it, Adrian exists in the Shadowchasers in a large part to be able to use any cards I want to create an exciting duel. As he often serves a gatekeeper to information that one has to be proven worthy to receive or to aid against things that are beyond the scope of mortals, I get to supply him with things that normally would not be possible because he has access to a multiverse. He's used all of the known HERO branches, but he could use things like the Numbers from ZeXal, Blue-Eyes or even a God Card.

To contrast this infinite selection, though, it is the story that often determines what he uses - in _Twice-Told Tales_ , he was able to use HEROes because contextually, he was attempting to save Arcadia from Armityle and the Shadow Queen from an inevitable fate. So his decks function less on Rule of Cool and more of Rule of Symbolism.


	6. Chapter 6: All Fun and Games

**Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen**

 **By Mei1105**

 **Chapter 6: All Fun and Games**

Emily was starting to think that she had been right, and that the dark elves had brought their underground base flatpacked from IKEA. Because she had been through a lot of kidnappings, and she could safely say that a secret trapdoor and slide to catch your enemies was one of the most cliche things she had ever seen in her life.

Not that it had stopped her and Judy from falling straight into it of course.

Almost as soon as she had registered that she was falling, the drop seemed to smooth out into a slide until she could feel the burn of friction through her jeans. Judy seemed to be trying to slow her descent, but she was thwarted when Emily ploughed straight into her to continue their downward slide.

Finally, the falling stopped, and Emily felt the bottom drop out of her stomach as they both tumbled the last two meters through the air and crashed onto a steel floor. Her landing was surprisingly squishy.

"OW!" that was Judy, sounding more offended than hurt, and Emily realised too late that she had landed on top of her. Her head was throbbing again, and she had to blink a few times to shed the dizziness from her vision. She was looking up through thick steel bars, at another dark elf, who fingered a large lever with a smug expression on his scratched face. She recognised him from the restaurant, but could not remember anyone ever using his name.

"Have a nice trip?" the dark elf grinned, before throwing his head back. "HEY MORA!" he hollered so loud that Emily was sure they'd be able to hear him on the top of the London Eye. "I'VE GOT THEM!"

A voice cheered from nearby, and footsteps approached at a hurried trot.

A quick scan of their surroundings caused Emily to groan – the chute had slid them all the way down to the bottom level of the city, and straight into a square steel cage. An unsettlingly chill rippled over her skin as she registered just how close they were to that huge fenced-off hole that they had seen earlier. It seemed their efforts to avoid the creepy pit had been in vain. Judy gave a yelp as she accidently elbowed her in the stomach, but Emily was too busy looking frantically around - where the hell was Becky?

"Yippee," she drawled, trying to find her feet. "Another flatpacked cell…"

"Emily, get off me!" Judy shrieked, as Emily's efforts to rise only yielded more pain. "You're going to break my ribs!"

"Are you calling me fat?" Emily asked dangerously. She was not sensitive about a lot of things, but when your sisters had had the figures of supermodels, you did start to develop a bit of a complex about your weight.

" _When did I even say that_?!" came the exasperated cry.

They were both cut off as loud, heavy, hurried footsteps approached. Emily scrambled to her feet, not enjoying how the blood rushed to her head in the process. Judy rose and immediately started pushing at the bars. They groaned a little, and their captor backpedalled a few anxious steps, but they did not bend, save for a few wavy imprints where Judy's fingers had squeezed.

"Thought dragons could bend steel?" Emily asked, confused. Her friend gave her a flat look.

"It's not a rule of thumb for my entire species. Some humans can lift eight hundred pound cars over their heads, but I'd like to see you try it."

"…so would I, actually."

"Kishen!" approaching like someone's furious mother, Mora glared at the elf as she appeared at the bottom of the staircase. Another male drow was right behind her. "There were supposed to be three of them! Can't you count?"

Behind Judy, Kishen hung his head. "Sorry boss. The other one must have stepped off the trap just before I sprung it."

Mora gave an exasperated groan, one hand clawing angrily at her own forehead as though her henchman's stupidity had physically hurt her.

"My lady," the taller male gestured behind her, and Mora whirled just in time to see the newcomer approach. Her entire body seemed to bristle, like a housecat being sprayed with water.

"What are you doing here, Kone?!" she demanded. The new elf was shorter than her by about an inch, but she regarded the younger dark elf with the same kind of smugness that Emily saw on her arch enemy at school every day.

"Well I _want_ to say she's here to see you," Judy put in, giving up on the cage bars, and folding her arms pointedly. "But it seems like such an obvious answer...mind you, you never know. She might just want to borrow twenty quid."

It was possible to hear Mora's jaw crunching under the strain. Kone just blinked slowly, as though unable to comprehend what had just been said. After a few seconds, her brain seemed to recompute long enough to answer the question.

"Your mother had some doubts about your ability to catch a bunch of helpless humans," she said, not even bothering to hide her sneer. "I came to make sure there were no slip ups."

"Bit late for that," Emily muttered, not bothering to correct her on their status as human. "She's already let one of us escape. Becky's probably halfway to the surface by now."

She knew she had the measure of Kone as her smirk seemed to consume even more of her face. Mora looked about ready to explode.

"Well what do you know?" Kone shrugged, as though surprised her own accuracy. "Your mum was right."

"Go away, Kone!" Mora was almost spitting. "I don't need this aggravation!"

"Really?" Judy deadpanned. "I never would have guessed. You seem so composed and cheerful."

"Oh I'd be in a _fantastic_ mood if I were her," Emily smirked, nodding at their captive's head. "Look at her hair. There's only one way you get that kind of bed hair, and sleeping is not it."

There was an interesting pause as everyone stopped what they were doing to study the way Mora's short white hair had matted and spiked up at the back. She gaped at them with a mixture of shock and indignation, before nervously trying to comb it with her fingers. Kone's expression was an interesting combination of astonishment, scandalised, gleeful, and jealous - Emily wondered if adding more emotions would cause her face to fall off.

Judy, for her part, studied Mora, and whistled. "Damn, someone definitely wasn't on top tonight."

Emily's composure broke, and she doubled over in a fit of giggles, clutching the cage for support. A flush of rage crept up Mora's face, but footsteps were approaching, and she forewent the expected slap, choosing instead to lean in menacingly. "Say anything to my mother, and you will be sorry!"

"Oh does she not approve?" Emily could not be certain, but she was pretty sure that Judy's voice had risen intentionally. The panicky look Mora shot over her shoulder at her incoming relative spoke volumes. "Don't worry dear, your secret love affair is safe with us."

It was too late now for any sort of reprimand now, as Maureen approached the cage and observed them coldly. Emily immediately understood why Becky had compared her to their French teacher - she had the same air of sneering contempt that made you feel she would be more than happy to push you out of a window if it meant she wouldn't have to listen to your stupidity any longer. The tailored black business suit only contributed to the image. It was a direct contrast to her daughter, who wore leggings, a pair of heavy black boots that Emily was sure she had a pair of herself, and a long black vest top decorated with zips ( _going through the rebellious teenager phase, are we, Mora?_ she thought to herself).

"Given all I've heard about you from my daughter, I was expecting something more...substantial."

"Is that another fat crack?" Emily griped at the chief. "Or are you making fun of my height?

Maureen ignored her, studying the pair a moment more and then glancing at her daughter. "They're scraggly, but they'll do."

Mora looked as though she were swallowing something very unpleasant. "Oh thanks for lowering yourself to parting with that little backhanded compliment. Don't bother thanking me for catching the two escaped prisoners, and preventing them from leaving."

Kone gave a scandalised gasp, while Maureen just looked close to throttling her daughter. Emily meanwhile, let out a huge snort better suited to a public restroom, before she and Judy burst out laughing, drawing everyone's attention back to the cage.

"I applaud the sarcasm," Emily assured a bemused looking Mora.

"But we invite your mum to do some maths," Judy said, leaning against the bars. "Specifically, if you have three prisoners and catch two of them, how many prisoners are still running free?"

It took a second for the implications to work their way through Maureen's brain. Emily resisted the urge to make a ticking noise like a clock.

"You _lost_ one!?" Maureen rounded on her daughter so fast that she might have teleported.

"We did _not_ lose her!" Mora growled.

"Yeah you did!" Judy and Emily singsonged in unison. Mora glared at them as though she were trying to shoot laser beams from her eyes.

"She just...missed the trap. It doesn't matter anyway - she won't get past the Nightmare Stairs."

"Oh well, I suppose that makes everything all better!" Maureen flung her hands into the air, as sarcasm dripped from her tongue. She crossed a step and got straight into her daughter's face. "You'd better make certain she doesn't make it to the surface. I planned on sending three sacrifices down the pit tonight, and if you don't find the girl, you will be taking her place!"

Emily felt a chill go down her spine as she realised that this was not just empty threats of a disciplinarian - Maureen actually meant it. If Mora was unnerved however, she did not show it.

"I am the only priestess in this little shithole you call a community," she snarled venomously. "Do you honestly think that there will be no repercussions if you were to toss me to my death?"

"No big loss," Maureen shrugged. "It's not as if you've done anything in your useless life to deserve that title, and you certainly haven't done anything for the benefit of the community since you got it."

"Doing _something_ doesn't seem to have helped you any!" Mora sneered back. "You've been feeding sacrifices to the pit for a month now, and nothing's happened. Take a hint, mother. Lolth doesn't like you!"

Emily leaned in to her best friend. "Is this what it's like watching My Super Sweet Sixteen while sober?"

"No, this is more like Jeremy Kyle," Judy corrected sagely, before adopting a grating shriek. " _Get off me, you slag! You ain't my mother!_ "

" _I want a DNA test!"_ Emily joined in, barely able to keep her voice straight.

Both seething drow rounded at the sound of their voices. They seemed to have completely forgotten that they had witnesses, both now leaning heavily against the bars like spectators in a private box, heaving with laughter.

"Hi," Emily gave an out of breath but cheery, wave of her hand. "Please continue. I'm really enjoying the fun and games."

Maureen's fury was swiftly redirected to her terribly casual victims. "Do you two have any comprehension of just how much danger you are in right now?"

Emily loved this part of a kidnapping - it was always fun to watch understanding slowly dawn on the face of the person who had snatched you. Both girls exchange looks, before shrugging and replying in unison. "Nope."

There was a clang, as a fist slammed into the bars.

"Think very carefully on your words," Maureen stalked up to the cage, eyes flashing. "This is _my_ city, _my_ elves and _my_ goddess. You are powerless here. And any would-be saviours you think you'll have will be joining you very shortly. The only question is how much you suffer before I put you there!"

Far from being intimidated in any way, Emily and Judy exchanged eye rolls.

"Oh great," Judy muttered. "Villainous gloating. I'll just check that off my kidnapping bingo list, right next to secret lair, and acme style trap."

"Don't forget flatpacked cell," Emily advised. "All I need is an utterance of 'You'll never escape me now!' and I'll have completed my top row."

From behind them, Emily was certain that she heard Kishen snort. Even Mora started sniggering, though she was smart enough to try and mask it with a cough.

"Do you find the prospect of your imminent doom _funny?_ " Maureen demanded.

"...well yes," Judy shrugged. "I mean, what else are we going to be? It only took us a minute to get under your skin, and you're not exactly good at striking fear into your kidnap victims."

The leader bent so that her face was barely inches from theirs through the heavy bars. She had probably been reasonably pretty in her youth, Emily thought to herself. But any attractiveness left was marred by the glint now dancing in her eye. In spite of her bravado up until now, the depth of that expression gave Emily a moment of pause. She had seen that look before - no ration or reason. It made her wonder just how closely Maureen was actually toeing the line of sanity.

"You think so?" she whispered. Emily was surprised that the leader was capable of speaking in anything beyond a grand posture or a furious rant. "Well, why don't we head to the pit, and you can see just how much fear I can strike into my victims."

Her head snapped to face the two men. "Bring them!"

"Umm…" Kishen timidly spoke up. "Should we tie them up or-"

"Don't be stupid," Maureen's glare silenced the shorter male instantly. "Bindings won't hold a dragon, even if she is a half breed. Bring the cage."

"And how do you propose they do that?" Mora drawled, apparently pleased to have found a flaw in her mother's logic.

"You have three pairs of hands," the leader smirked back, apparently unfazed by her daughter's smugness. "I suggest you start lifting."

Mora blinked as she did the arithmetic. "...wait, three?" But her mother and Kone were already striding off as the solution and insult finally dawned on the younger drow. Kishen and the other bodyguard were already eyeing the cage with trepidation.

Feeling a wonderful sense of schadenfreude, Emily pointedly plonked her butt down on the floor of the cage. She was joined not a second later by Judy, who just smirked at their captor's dilemma.

"This ought to be good…incidentally, why is this cage so big? Are you transporting giant moles or something? We can stand up and run around in here!"

A malicious smirk spread across the face of the Apprentice Librarian.

"…d'you know, that is the best idea you've ever had, darling!"

OOO

There was a single male drow, coming up the staircase.

Becky swallowed her nerves. Every instinct was telling her to turn and run, but racing footsteps would be noticed. So she forced herself to maintain her steady walk, hunching her shoulders, and scowling at the floor like it had personally insulted her. Her hood was up, shielding her black hair and human-shaped ears from view. She looked more like a drow than Emily or Judy, simply by virtue of being black, and so long as she kept her eyes down and walked like she meant business, she was hoping that nobody would look too closely, and she might be able to sneak down to the lower levels unmolested.

 _This isn't going to work,_ she thought to herself, nerves threatening to twist her composure into one of fright. _He's going to notice straight away...No! I can't think like that. I'm not scared - I'm off to murder Captain America._

A laugh tried to force its way out of her mouth, and it took all her efforts to swallow it back as she strode around the edge of the balcony. The male drow did not notice however - he only stepped differentially to the left so that she could pass by untroubled. With a sweep that would have looked amazing had she been wearing a cloak, Becky descended down the staircase.

 _Holy crap, it worked!_ she thought, doing her best not to leap down the stairs two at a time (a broken leg would really throw a spanner into her poorly conceived rescue plans). _I_ never _thought that would work! I'm_ really _good!_

A voice that sounded a lot like her mother cautioned her. _One victory at a time._ She was effectively hiding in plain sight. Now she had to get down to the bottom of this underground city.

But first, she had another pair of drow to pass. They were coming up the staircase, carrying a pair of heavy-looking sacks in each arm. As soon as they saw her approach, they tucked themselves into a corner, and stayed there, with their eyes downcast. Becky charged past them as though they were completely beneath her notice. Inside, her racing heart started to calm.

 _Okay, victory two. This actually isn't as bad as I thought it might be._ She was still certain, as she descended the staircase, that it would not last forever, but she wasn't quite ready to contemplate what would happen when it did go badly. For now, she was on a mission, and every victory took her closer to finding Judy and Emily.

What she would do when she found them was another matter entirely. For a moment, she wondered if she was crazy, running through a hostile environment with no sort of plan in mind. But then, she mused, she did not know exactly what she would find when she got down there. It wasn't reckless - it was just preparing to adapt.

It sounded lame in her head.

Going down the stairs was far easier than climbing them had been earlier, and as she passed another drow, her nerves settled. It was remarkable how quickly people got out of your way when you walked like this. Another male drow, dragging two more sacks up the stairs by himself on the seventh floor, backed away timidly before she had even noticed him, leaving her to step casually over his bags without even breaking her stride.

 _If I ever make it out of here_ Becky mused to herself. _I'm going to start walking like this at school._ It would certainly save her arms and ribs some bruising, and maybe she could knock Reece Fullham's folders out of his arms for a change, instead of the other way around (Anna was convinced that he secretly fancied her, but in Becky's opinion he was as thick as two short planks, and about as attractive).

She snapped out of her musing about school, as she registered the footsteps following her down the staircase, and immediately shifted her stance back to her murderous walk. The steps were brisk, and sturdy, and something about them made Becky uneasy. As she swung around the next flight of stairs, she caught a glimpse of the figure descending above her - tall, slender legs, and distinctly feminine hips. Her nerves came back in a swoop. Men who had been browbeaten their entire lives were one thing, but women were different. Women always looked closely at other women, sizing up the competition, and evaluating them for strengths and weaknesses.

Resisting the urge to break into a run, Becky descended to the ninth floor, quickly turned off the staircase, and out of the doorway onto the balcony. Light seared across her vision and her eyes watered in pain. The sudden contrast of dim corridor lighting against the glowing spotlights, a mere three floors below her was blinding.

She blinked slowly, trying to re-establish her vision, and her gaze fell on the hole directly below her. She had a better view from this side, and as the last of the blackness vanished from the corners of her eyes, she caught sight of a shadow moving along the deep, sloping tunnel wall.

 _They're keeping something down there_ she realised, eyeing up the blinding spotlights, trepidation creeping up around her chest as she remembered that horrible screech from earlier. _But what?_

It was only when she registered the absence of sound, that she realised the footsteps had stopped too.

"Impressive subterfuge," the owner's voice was low, and curt. "But lacking the proper bearing of a true member of our race."

Becky would later look back and be proud that she did not scream, or turn and flee. Instead she turned to face the speaker. The woman's leggings and vest top were practical, as was the impressive belt of knives she carried. One hand was rested casually within easy reach of a handle.

"What tipped you off?" Becky managed to find a bit of her throat that had not dried up. A smirk twitched at the woman's lips.

"A true drow would have scolded the man for not moving the laundry bag out of her way - she would never lower herself to stepping over it."

"Ahh…" Becky nodded, mentally scolding herself for not thinking of that in her haste to rescue her friends.

"Don't kick yourself too much," the drow leaned casually against the doorway by the stairs. "It's hard to overcome a lifetime's worth of conditioning. From what I understand, the surface still very much rules in favour of men, even though most of the more civilised parts like to pretend otherwise."

Becky offered a shrug, feeling distinctly unnerved. She was scared, and pretty certain that something nasty was about to happen to her, and yet her would-be aggressor was standing there engaging her in conversation. "I won't deny that. Feminism might have come on leaps and bounds in the last hundred years, but it's still a long way to true equality."

The drow gave her a look. "Equality is an illusion. Men have ruled your world for millennia now. Do you honestly think that they will ever let go of that so easily after enjoying it for so long? No. I have studied your culture for centuries now. Even today the most educated human men still chafe at the idea of losing their position to a woman."

Frowning, but now fully engaged, Becky folded her arms and leaned against the balcony. "Do you have children?"

There was a beat, and something indecipherable crossed the drow's face - Becky wondered if this was what maternal pride looked like for their species. "Yes. Although he's not a child any longer."

"And you never wanted the best for him? Encouraged him to rise further than your culture allows?" Becky asked.

A mirthless laugh escaped the other woman. "You may have noticed we're not exactly a nurturing species down here. I didn't waste time lying to him that he could be something great. I taught him the most important skill of all. I taught him to _survive_ , no matter what the cost."

Not for the first time this evening, Becky reflected just how lucky she was to have her own family. How would she have turned out if she had just been shown how to survive? No hugs from her mother when she almost broken down from exam anxiety last month. No teaching Andi that ignoring bullies never worked as well as a smack around the face. No gentle elbows from her father encouraging her to find the beauty in a wall of graffiti.

Some of her revulsion must have shown on her face, for the drow's brow creased into one of discontent, and she straightened up from the wall with her chin lifted.

"Think me a terrible person all you like, child. But you are a blind fool to judge another culture by your own values. This world is not our home, and everything is out to get us. Humans infest every corner of the planet, and they are barely tolerant of their own species, let alone others. We don't have the raw power of so many other Shadowkind, and sunlight robs us of our strength. Only the strong survive this sort of life. Training my son how to do that was more than most mothers would have done down here."

She pulled the longest knife from her belt. Like magic, Becky felt her heart start to hammer again from the sedate pace it had been keeping during their conversation.

"So, are you going to walk, or do I need to break your legs and drag you down to our matron?"

"Wait wait wait!" Becky thrust her hands up and backed away, although she knew that if the other woman did attack it would do little more than give her something else to break. "Aren't you supposed to fight fairly or something?"

The pointy end of the knife was gestured toward her face. "The Fair Flight Clause only applies to Shadowchasers. Since I see no mark on you, you're not a Shadowchaser, and I'm under no obliga-"

She broke off, for Becky was already running.

 _So much for solving all our problems with duelling!_ she thought, wondering why Judy had failed to mention that particular loophole. Instinct caused her to duck into a doorway as a smaller knife whizzed past her head and hit the wall with a clatter. Clearly the belt was not just for show, and she had a horrible feeling that she could not outrun the elf for long. She was not unhealthy by any means, but Zumba once a week with Anna was the extent of her exercise routine (and that was less exercise, and more uncoordinated flailing).

There was no decoration in this building - the walls of the short corridor were bare, and even the construction felt like a bit of a rush job. Becky did not stay to admire it however, ducking into a room as her pursuer appeared framed in the corridor entrance behind her. A thought suddenly struck her, and she whipped herself around behind the open door, and crouched tense in the shadows.

As the drow stepped over the threshold, Becky threw her weight into the door and slammed it hard into her attacker's face. Bone and cartilage crunched against wood and the other woman slipped backwards into the corridor, striking her head hard on the stone floor, where she lay sprawled and unmoving.

Heart banging against her rib cage, Becky crept out around her wooden shield to see what she had done.

"Umm…" she realised for the first time, that she had not actually asked the drow's name before she had started chasing her. "Have I killed you?"

Naturally, her unconscious victim gave no reply. Feeling more guilty than relieved at this moment, Becky quickly crawled out from her hiding place, and pressed two fingers to the other woman's neck. She let out a heavy sigh as she felt a pulse thudding steadily away. Still, she could not just leave her like this, with blood bubbling up from her shattered nose, and a sizeable bang on the head. Her conscience would never let her sleep again.

The room that she had hidden in was clearly some kind of sleeping area, for the four beds within were made up, with a male drow slumbering deeply in one of them. Becky winced as she recognised him as the one she had knocked unconscious in the prison, and she did her best not to look at him as she swiped two unused blankets from another bed. Sweating, as she realised just how exposed she was in the middle of the corridor, she quickly spread one of the blankets on the floor, and rolled the drow into the recovery position on top of it, before laying the second blanket on top of her. Hopefully now, she would not choke to death on her own nosebleed, or go into shock before someone could come along and help her.

Spying a small ring of keys attached to her victim's belt, Becky warred for a moment with her guilt, before unlatching them, and adding them to her pocket next to the pilfered knife.

"I am not making a habit of this," she swore to herself, getting to her feet, and heading back for the staircase. She did not need to try very hard to slip back into the Murder Captain America Walk.

From his bed in the other corner of the room, Fleek wisely continued to feign sleep. He had had enough bangs to the head for one day, thank you very much.

OOO

"I've lost my signal," Mei reported, shaking her phone as though hoping to make an answer pop out of it in a shower of apps. "Zilch. Zip. Nada. The last location of the tracker was down here though, so we're on the right lines."

Jalal was usually very good at keeping anxiety at bay. One did not remain in his position for the length of time he had by panicking and rushing into situations. But now that they were getting closer, and their clues more sparse, it was starting to creep up on him again. Somewhere below them was Judy, and whatever situation she was in, he would have bet all of his fortune that it was not good.

Ever since he had taken her in eight years ago, he had done his best to protect her. He had always known, in the back of his mind, that he would not be able to do it forever. Parents could do their best to shield their children from harm, but eventually they had to fall on their own. He had expected that sooner or later something would happen to her - whether that was finding trouble on her own, or someone else causing trouble through her in order to get to him.

It did not make it an easier pill to swallow, though.

And hand squeezed his shoulder, and he removed his distant stare at the poster to find Adrian standing by his shoulder, a reassuring smile on his face.

"That's why you have me," the Librarian grinned, showing a hint of fang as he put his nose in the air and sniffed. He pulled a face at the result, his ears folding back against his head. "Eww…"

"What?" Maria folded her arms. "What's so unpleasant?"

"Fast food...beer...a million bodies sweating under winter coats…" his ears pricked up. "Ooh dark elf! Faint but…" he took another sniff, and pointed. "This way."

He marched off towards the Piccadilly Line, sniffing with his nose in the air in a way that made several travellers back away nervously. Somewhere in the distance, a saxophone was playing, and hot air roared through the tunnels with each incoming train. Jalal was right behind the Librarian, tense for any sign of struggle or suspicious activity.

What he got, was a nudge to the shoulder from Adrian, who had not been focusing as intently as he had first appeared.

"Are you okay?" the Librarian's ears twitched curiously, though his tail remained high and on alert and he took another deep breath to keep the scent fresh.

"Yes, of course," Jalal's response was automatic after centuries of putting others before himself. Adrian did not buy it for a second, and he gave his friend a look.

"No you're not," he shook his head. "You're in the anxious stage now. The initial panic and drive for action is wearing off, and you're starting to entertain all the worst scenarios in your head. Where is she? What's happening to her? Is she okay? I know. I get it with Emily, Mei and everyone else in the Library every single time."

Jalal gave him a look. "I've been leading the Shadowchasers for a thousand years now, Adrian. This isn't my first kidnapping."

"No, but it's the first one with Judy," Adrian tilted his head to the side, his right ear flicking as a crowd of people meandered down the corridor in the opposite direction, dressed for a night of clubbing. "And it's always worse when it's someone you love. All the straightforward, rational thinking that you use in work disappears as soon as it becomes personal."

Jalal knew better than to deny that.

"But you've spent the better part of nearly eight years training Judy to be a Shadowchaser. She is not just another sixteen year old, who doesn't have a clue what to do in situations like this. She's far from helpless. And despite how horrendously bad this whole 'daughter-but-not' secret you think you have is, I doubt these drow know who they have. If they did, they'd have been demanding your heart on a pike or something." Adrian actually smiled a bit. "This is no worse than that time you got us lost in Canada."

" _You_ had the map, my friend," Jalal immediately went on the defensive, folding his arms with polite pointedness. "We only got lost because you had a map from the _future_. And Canada wasn't Canada yet."

"Eh, it made for an interesting trip," Adrian waved a hand airily, almost concussing some poor exhausted-looking office worker coming the other way. "It was kind of fun watching you get so increasingly frustrated and cursing. I think by the time that bulette ate your sword - and your arm - you were up to every second word."

"I was rather fond of my arm. Still am, too." Jalal muttered with a glower.

"Hey, it grew back, and I made it up to you. Phoenixia said you weren't a half bad-kisser later." Adrian's smile became a smirk. "You've had five hundred years to practice. Wanna take the test again?"

"Thank you, but no." Jalal cast a glance up towards Maria, who was leaning over Mei's phone with its owner. Her rather stylish hat was still immaculately clean despite what they were doing, but he swore he saw it twitch slightly in a manner that suggested her fox ears were in play. "I think I'm content with the grade I got then."

Adrian chuckled. "Good answer. We'll make a married man out of you yet." Slinging his arm around Jalal's shoulder, he pulled his friend closer as they walked.

"Why aren't you as concerned for Emily?" the half dragon asked curiously.

"Oh, I am. I am very muchly so. But I am also Emily's teacher and I have done everything within my power to train and prepare for this. I have faith in her skills, her determination, and in the fact that despite it all, Jalal," bringing them both to a stop, the Librarian looked into the other man's eyes. "We're good men with good kids. Everything will turn out fine."

Jalal managed to smile himself, reassurance filling his face. "This is true."

A shrill whistle broke them both out of their manly one-armed hug.

"Not that your bromance isn't adorable," Maria put in with a smirk, while Mei happily snapped a picture on her phone. "But which way do we go, Adrian?"

She jabbed one thumb towards the northbound line, and the other to the southbound. Clearing his throat, Adrian put his nose in the air again and began to sniff. His ears twitched and a frown crossed his face as he sniffed again, walking in a large circle and peering in all corners of the small hallway. Mellow jazz music that had been playing nearby was suddenly silenced.

"It goes faint here…" the Librarian shook his head and pulled a face at a particularly enthusiastic sniff. "Too many bodies moving around in an enclosed space. I've lost it."

Before everything Adrian had said to him about trusting the girls to look after themselves could go right out of Jalal's head, the rising panic was broken by a new voice calling from behind.

"You looking for a girl?"

All four of them rounded. A skinny man in an oversized army surplus jacket, was peering at them curiously from the busking pitch. His beard should have been trimmed some time ago, and the open bag at his feet was battered like the rest of him. The only clean part of him was the saxophone hanging around his neck. He held gnarled fingers up to his shoulder.

"'bout yay high? Blonde? Mid teens?"

"Yes!" relief practically burst out of Jalal, and he approached the man in three swift strides. The surprised busker took half a step back in alarm at his intensity. "Did you see her?"

"'bout half an hour, forty five minutes ago," the man nodded, shuffling his feet back and forth on the spot. "She was following that trail of blood there." He pointed to the flecks of rust dotted haphazardly on the floor - completely missable unless you knew what you were looking for. A small burst of pride warmed Jalal's chest - she was good.

"Where did she go?" Maria asked. Running his thumb over the end of his sax, the man sucked his lips between his teeth.

"Not sure where she was heading," he said, almost carefully. "She seemed in a real hurry...kinda frantic actually…"

His shuffling feet nudged his battered duffle bag. Mei got there first, an exasperated groan bursting from her chest, as she reached into her bag and pulled out a twenty pound note. The man's eyes went noticeably wide, but she yanked the purple bank note pointedly into the air before he could reach it.

"Where exactly did you see her go?" she said, before jerking her head at Jalal. "And don't blather - that's her father, and he's had a _very_ difficult evening."

Jalal did not bother to correct her, as the man turned and pointed about ten feet down the corridor.

"Some kind of maintenance door," he said. "Just by that black and green poster." He snorted. "Gotta hand it to her - I'd never noticed it before, and I've been coming to this spot for two years now."

Adrian reached it first, his eyes scanning the tiles in the wall for any obvious differences.

"Think she just...pushed it, or summin," the saxophonist shrugged, as Adrian's fingers finally made contact with the wall, pressing experimentally against the tiles. Eventually, one of them clicked and the door lazily drifted away from its frame, and the Librarian bowed cheerfully to his friend.

"After you," he waved at Jalal, as the dragon charged past, into what seemed to have been styled as another maintenance corridor. Mei obligingly tucked the twenty into the end of the man's saxophone.

"Ta!" the busker's mood seemed to soar as he stuffed the money into his pocket. "Any requests?"

"Comb your hair!" Mei called over her shoulder, ducking under her husband's arm and charging into the dark.

As Adrian closed the door behind them, the busker's voice floated after them. "...I don't know that one!"

OOO

Judy had never been kidnapped before. In spite of Jalal's frequent concerns about her wellbeing, she had managed to look after herself relatively well up until this point. So when it came to kidnap behaviour, she took her cue from Emily, who had more experience in matters such as this.

Which was how she and the auburn haired dimension hopper came to be running from one corner of their cage to the other, giggling like a pair of schoolchildren as their enclosure rocked from side to side with their weight like a ship in choppy water. Mora had been quick to call in three extra men as reinforcements, but all six of them were still struggling, and three times now they had lost their grip, sending the cage crashing to the floor to rapturous cheers from those inside.

"I swear, if you two don't sit still, I'm going to come in there and break both your legs!" Mora seemed five minutes away from pulling her hair out, as she and Kishen heaved the corner of the cage upright again. Neither Emily or Judy were heavy by any stretch of the imagination, but combined with the heavy metal, even the elves were starting to sweat. Maureen and Kone had trotted on ahead of the group, and were already waiting by one of the huge spotlights. While initially Mora's struggles had been amusing, the leader was now tapping her foot impatiently against the bare rock.

"We're rocking the ship!" Emily giggled, throwing herself into the corner beside Kishen, not a second after Judy. The poor elf groaned, and struggled to keep himself upright. Mora's body jerked from the impact, almost sending her over on her ankle.

"Yes and if we do it enough times, we'll get out of Davy Jones locker!" Judy said in her most serious voice. "Oh by the way Em, when Harriet takes you to Disney this summer, you _have_ to go on Pirates of the Caribbean!"

"Only if you tell me where the on-ride photos get taken," Emily said, as they charged into the opposite corner, causing the whole cage to list dangerously again as the six drow restarted their walk. "Harriet and I want to buy plastic swords, so we can pretend to be duelling when the boat goes down the drop-"

"Oh my God! If you do that you _have_ to be sitting in the back! Can you imagine everyone's faces when they go to get their pictures and you two are having a sword fight behind them!"

Mora was outright growling at them both as they changed sides again, slamming into the bars with identical clangs. Judy could feel a bruise starting to form on her arm, but it was worth it, as the taller of Mora's bodyguards lost his footing and skidded to one knee.

"...get up, Bright!" Mora exclaimed, glaring at the fallen henchman. "Mum is getting impatient - do you want to be thrown in the pit instead?"

"Yes, speaking of the mysterious, vaguely-titled pit," Emily put in, as she and Judy paused to catch their breath. "What exactly is it that we should be so afraid of? I mean I know we're like infants compared to how long you lot live, but Judy and I outgrew being afraid of the dark quite some time ago."

In spite of her exhaustion, the drow gave a wicked looking grin, as the cage was hauled along at an exhausted plod. "Oh the dark is the least of your concerns, girl. I promise you that."

She glanced over her shoulder at their destination. In spite of Judy and Emily's efforts, the small group of elves were making progress as they continued their slow march towards the spotlights. Taking a moment to look properly, Judy blinked a few spots out of her vision. Even from this far away, she could feel the heat, and she wondered if the lights were magical, or if their kidnappers had somehow wired this place for electricity.

"Okay, see what you mean," the half dragon agreed. "No dark down here to be afraid of." Mora was ignoring her, and a smirk crept across Judy's face.

"Word of advice, Mora," she called out, causing the drow to snap out of her daze with a start of fright. Judy leaned close to the bars, and offered a stage whisper. "If you don't want your Mum to find out about your secret boyfriend, it helps if you don't stare at him with drool creeping out of your mouth while he's doing manual labour."

There was a clang, as Mora and Bright dropped their ends of the cage. Caught off guard, it slipped from Kishen's fingers too and landed on his foot with a loud crack. The drow howled and sank to the floor, clutching his broken bones. The other three strained and set the cage on the ground before any more damage could be done. Inside, Emily fell over herself with laughter, as Mora's cheeks went dark with colour, and her eyes burned furiously.

"Would you shut your mouth?!" she hissed, as barely five meters away, her mother turned her head to see what all the noise was about.

"Hey, we don't blame you," Emily shrugged, smiling pleasantly as she got over her laughter. "I mean, by your standards, he's not that bad. Not my type though."

"Well no," Judy pointed out. "He'd need boobs to be your type."

"Not necessarily, although they do help-"

If Mora continued to gnash her teeth together like that, Judy thought, she was going to need dentures before long.

"What is going on here?!" Maureen had got fed up of waiting, and charged over with Kone trotting behind her like a puppy. When mother and daughter were both this angry, Judy reflected, it was completely possible to see just how alike they actually looked.

"See, they definitely don't help here," Emily gestured to the three female dark elves, causing Judy to double over in hysterics.

"Nothing!" Mora exclaimed, stamping her foot as best she could without losing her balance. "Nothing is going on here! Get off my back, for fuck sake!"

"Do I detect a hint of frustration?" Emily asked sweetly, as Judy wiped the tears from her eyes. Mora shot her a filthy look before sliding down the cage to give Kishen a swift kick. The poor man moaned as he tried to put weight on his broken bones. Judy could not help but feel pity - men really did get the raw end of the deal down here.

Maureen walked right up to her daughter, an almost frantic look starting to creep back into her expression. "I know what you're trying to do," she whispered, in a tone so deadly that they all stopped to listen. Clinging to the side of her heavy load, Mora was stuck answering her mother with a puzzled frown.

"If you think that you can delay my sacrifices with childish antics, then you are sadly mistaken," she hissed. "I will have the blessing that I deserve, and you will not stand in the way of it."

Humour had vanished from the situation now. Maureen was speaking as though her life depended on this. Judy glanced between mother and daughter, rapidly putting the pieces together.

"Get moving!" the leader barked, marching off with her shoulders hunched in fury. Just like that, the tension broke.

"Oooo…" Judy and Emily mocked, as she strode back to the edge of the hole in the ground.

"I think mummy is a bit jealous of her daughter," Emily concluded with a nod.

"Of course she's jealous," Mora sneered, as the cage began moving again. "A child could see that!"

Judy could not help but notice that Bright shot her an arch look at those words.

"So enlighten me," the half dragon continued the conversation. "How exactly is tossing us down your deep little tanning bed going to help your mother get a blessing? Gods don't exactly hand out priesthoods to anyone who commits premeditated murder."

"Unless they're drunk," Emily corrected. Seeing everyone giving her some truly odd looks, she backed away defensively into the bars of the cage. "What? It only happened once, and it was Adrian's fault!"

Mora decided not to dignify this with an answer, as the cage was hauled the last few meters across the lower level, coming to a rest at the edge of the pit. The hole plunged down beneath them, the light illuminating a good five meters down, before it tapered off into shadows, the tunnel curving off to the left as it became too dark to see. The walls of the hole were matted in white viscous cobwebs, which stuck in clumps that crisscrossed here and there like torn safety nets.

A very unpleasant shudder of recognition went through Judy's body, and she jerked painfully into the bars as the cage was pushed again, sliding out so that it balanced over the two rock walkways that protruded from the edge. The half dragon glanced down, and gave a grim smile.

"Right...the floor comes out of this cage, doesn't it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well now that you mention it..." Mora said, wiping sweat from her brow with a greed expression.

"Wait a minute!" Maureen ordered, pulling her daughter up short. "We're in no hurry. Let them see...yes, let them see how much fear we can strike, when faced with a gift from the gods!"

"You what?" Emily asked, flatly.

The answer came from deep beneath their feet, in the form of a chilling screech. Holding nervously onto the cage, both girls peered between the iron bars into the hole below. Two long fingers of shadow crept along the curved walls, and the strands of webbing began to shudder and twitch as thick dark legs delicately began to pick their way around the corner, dragging an enormous body with it.

Judy had been expecting something hairy with eight legs the moment that she had seen the web. But her expectations had been terribly conservative. That thing was nothing more or less than a monster. It was about as tall as two double decker buses, and covered in short dark hair that blended it almost perfectly with the shadows. The tunnel was barely big enough for it to squeeze up, and as it came close to the lights, it shrieked and backed off, its two chelicerae clawing at the air.

In spite of herself, Judy backed away just a tiny bit from the bars of the cage, and slid her hand into Emily's for a squeeze.

"There it is," Maureen's smile was delighted as she observed her prisoners. "That's the look they all wear when they see it. Humans spend so much of their lives crushing lesser creatures beneath their heels. But sometimes the Gods fight back...and they fight back in a big way."

She paced around the edge of the pit. Stray strands of cobweb clung to her shoes, giving her the eerie impression that she was walking on a cloud.

"Some-" Maureen shot her daughter a scornful look. "-choose to believe that it was luck that we just happened to dig into this tunnel system. But luck had nothing to do with the first of our people burrowing their way beneath this city all those years ago. Think of how many other spots in the city they could have chosen."

She peered down the pit with a rapturous expression. "We were always meant to be here. And Lolth left us a gift to prove it."

The spider chose to qualify this statement with an impatient hiss. It had clearly been fed for long enough to know what the appearance of the cage meant. Out of the corner of her eye, Judy saw Emily swallow thickly.

"Well I hope she left you a gift receipt…"

"Don't be daft, Em," Judy's voice returned from whatever dimension it had hidden in at the sight of the eight-legged monstrosity. She had no doubts that they were going to be getting an uncomfortably close look at it in the next few minutes, but before that happened, she was going to take great pleasure in disabusing the shit out of their captor's insane notions. "That thing's not a gift from anybody, much less from Lolth."

There was a clang, and Judy gagged as two hands wrapped around her neck. Nails pierced the skin of her throat, and she staggered to one knee. She was stronger than any drow, but Maureen was not any drow. She was fuelled by mad rage as she choked the life out of the dragon.

"This is my gift! I will have my blessing from it! And none of your little tricks or lies will-"

She broke off with a yelp as Emily latched onto her arm and sank her teeth deep into the flesh between her palm and her thumb. Maureen howled and backhanded the girl into the bars of the cage, tearing deep teeth marks into her skin. Judy reeled back as the blood began to flow back to her brain.

"Lies is it?" Emily demanded, rubbing Judy's shoulder as she struggled to get her breath back. "Let me guess. Mora here gets a blessing, and just as you start to strop about how it's not fair, suddenly you unearth this thing."

She nodded to the spider, who had stationed itself against the curved wall of the tunnel, ready to pounce. Judy wished that it would move - she hated it when spiders stayed still. You were never certain if they were dead or just waiting to scamper over your hands…

"Must have seemed like perfect timing!" Emily folded her arms, regarding the leading elf critically. "You couldn't stand the thought of someone being better than you, so you convinced yourself that this was your ticket to solving everything. After all, if you had this wonderful chance dropped in your lap, it would mean you still had a chance - not that you'd failed where your daughter had succeeded."

The leader was practically spitting. "It was a gift-"

"Coincidence, dear," Emily snarled. "It's what the universe does for shits and giggles."

There was a clang as Maureen's fist slammed into the bars, but neither girl flinched. They were beyond that now.

"What would you know of gods?" the drow spat. "Yours give you nothing but failed promises. Down here, the gods honour the strong! And I will have mine rewarded once I offer up your wretched lives and take the power I deserve!"

Casually, Judy lifted a hand and wiped the flying spit from her face. "Have you ever considered that maybe Lolth hasn't blessed you because you're a paranoid, delusional mess?"

Maureen was fuming, but Mora just gave a funny half nod of concession that told Judy she was spot on with her assessment.

"Didn't think so," she continued. "That's the trouble with a society where everyone is out to get you - that and a lack of sunlight. It's no wonder you all go crazy."

The cage floor swung open like a trapdoor, and the scream that Judy had sworn Mora would never have the pleasure of hearing burst out of her as her stomach rocketed up into her mouth. The mouth of the pit, and the deeply scratched tunnel walls shot past her before she landed on her side against the web. Not a second later, Emily landed two meters away, causing the whole web to shake like a trampoline. It felt nothing like silk - the threads were like solid steel ropes, and she knew she would have three perfect bruises from them. They were fuzzy and clung to her jeans and jacket like candy floss as she tried to wriggle upright.

Something clicked above her, and she looked up to see the monstrous spider pick it's way over them both, the web flexing and straining as the legs scuttled over the threads. Fear rolled its way around Judy's stomach, as eight eyes locked first on her, and then on Emily. Fangs glistened in the spotlights on the end of its wriggling chelicerae.

For a second, Judy wondered if it was not hungry. Then it moved, swiftly stepping over her and hissing with hungry delight.

Emily had just a second to scream, and throw her arms ineffectually over her face, before the fangs sank deeply into her body.


	7. Chapter 7: Don't Try This At Home

**Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen**

 **By Mei1105**

 **Chapter 7: Don't Try This At Home**

Becky had to confess that a part of her was feeling immensely relieved. If it had been a giant bee she would have been scared. If it had been a clown, she would have backed away nervously. If it had been a vampire, she would have run screaming.

But a giant spider? Piece of cake. Her aunt Marina kept tarantulas. After years of opening her facebook news feed and being confronted with pictures of the 'fluffy babies', Becky had become remarkably desensitised. On her last trip to South Africa, two years ago, she had actually been brave enough to hold Priscilla, a gorgeous Brazilian Salmon Pink, who had picked her way curiously over her fingers before crawling off to eat mealworms (Priscilla had later had her first moult, and had been revealed to be a boy much to aunt Marina's disappointment - his name had remained the same).

Peering over the top of the tenth floor balcony, Becky's eyes flicked between the empty cage and the deep dark hole, down which the tangle of legs and hairy dark back of the spider were visible. She had heard both Judy and Emily scream as they had tumbled down into the web, and she knew she did not have long. Spider venom was not usually dangerous to humans, but she doubted that anyone had ever taken into account one this big before. Depending on the species, it could paralyse (best case scenario) or start to dissolve the more solid parts of the body (by far the worst case). The chelicerae would then grind the softened prey into mush before swallowing.

Either way, they were in trouble.

Fortunately, as her eyes traced the long thick black cables trailing along the ground below her, she now had a plan.

Pushing herself back away from the edge of the wall, she set off, her mind churning over different scenarios. She did not encounter anyone on the staircase, but she did not need the Murder Walk now. She had a purpose, and her nerves were tamed.

It was amazing how quickly you calmed down when you knew what you were doing. Maybe that was why Emily remained so laid back in the midst of being knocked out and taken to a secret base. And why Judy had been able to best Mora so easily in Nandos. She wondered if the same was true of firefighters and nurses. No one in her immediate family was in such a position - her father was an engineer for British Airways, and her mother worked on the ticket desk. There was very little life or death in that line of work.

If she did as Judy and Emily had suggested, and considered joining the Shadowchasers, would she be able to manage events like this with the same calm that her friends did? She had always had a problem controlling her nerves. Most anxious children tended to fold inwards when they had trauma in their early childhood. She had been lucky to avoid that, by painting and designing her feelings out, and always keeping a small core group of friends nearby throughout primary and secondary school. But she would not be in school forever - already her little group of friends would be breaking up after GCSE, with Anna and Mike aiming for the FE college, and Miki and Emily staying on for A-Level - and she would need to find some other way of coping. If, as she had always suspected, her trauma traced back to that horrible year of the vampire, would putting herself in a position to fight such creatures help her, or just make her worse?

That horrible shriek was echoing through the solid walls as she stepped off the staircase and onto the ground floor. She hoped that meant that it was having difficulty eating her friends, and she quickened her step, listening hard for a hum, or a prickling of her skin - anything that might give her a hint as to the location of her goal.

She had time, she reminded herself. Emily had said you had to be eighteen, which meant she had two years to think it over. And two years to think of how on earth she was going to explain this to her parents...

There! Her eyes snapped to the ceiling. Someone sensible had drilled a hole into the wall and stapled the thick black cables into the top corner of the corridor to stop people treading on them. They travelled the length of the corridor, before slipping around a corner out of sight, and as she hurried after them, a low hum began to reach her ears. It was amazing how much noise electricity actually made.

The cables vanished into a vent in the wall, through which the power hummed like a hive of bees. Becky felt the hairs on her neck stand on end, and she gently tried the door. The lock resisted. That was good, she told herself. It meant there was nobody inside who would stop her. She fished the keyring from her pocket, wincing at the jingling noise it made, and wondered how on earth Emily could match keys to locks just by looking at them. An educated guess eliminated all of the silver keys, which left her with nine brass ones. Three of them were too big, and one of them was twisted at an angle that would have made it impossible to use. She wondered idly if Emily knew how to pick locks too. After the night she was having, it would not have surprised her.

The third key slid home and after a quick jiggle, twisted the lock back, allowing Becky to slip inside. The room was not as large as she had expected, and she could not have even begun to guess what half of the machines did, stacked neatly against the walls like monoliths with buttons and LEDs flashing red and green. Cables and wires from the boxes, fed their way into crudely drilled holes in the wall. She wondered where on earth they were leaching all of this from, and why nobody had noticed. She also had no idea which one of these buttons was the off switch.

But there were other ways of doing this.

For the first time that night, she grinned. She felt crazy, but she was starting to understand that that was the only way you could play this game. Casually, she walked up to the nearest machine and dragged her hand down the box, flipping a load of switches into the down position. Somewhere in the distance, alarms began to shriek.

"Ooh this looks expensive!" she rubbed her hands together. And giggling like a child, she started to pound her fingers against the brightly coloured buttons.

OOO

"I spy with my little eye, something beginning with...C."

"Carving?"

"Nope."

"Cobweb?"

"Yup!"

"That's not a real cobweb though - it's a stone carving _of_ a cobweb. You should have let me have carving."

"...Mei, are we really going to argue about the etiquette of I Spy?"

"You got a better way to pass the time?"

Spying another J, marked in lipstick above their heads, Jalal allowed himself to smile, feeling prouder of Judy with every step they took down the twisted stone corridors. The pathways split in so many directions that navigation was almost impossible. As a trap to confuse intruders, it was very effective. You could be lost for months down here.

"Don't worry," he announced. "I think we might be there."

The corridor fell away dramatically into a staircase that wound its way down the walls of the shaft. There was a faint whistle of air being sucked up around them, and Jalal felt a chill that had nothing to do with them being underground, run through his body.

"Oookay," Maria peered over the edge, her ears twitching beneath her hat. "Who wants to go down the creepy dark staircase first?"

The Librarian's wife snorted. "Stairs are boring." Jalal took a hasty step back as golden feathers unfurled themselves from the other woman's back. She flexed them gently, before stepping forward. "Meet you guys at the bottom!"

"Mei wait!" Adrian thrust a hand out, but she had already dropped off the edge, her wings catching the updraft with a 'fwump!" as they began to beat their owner gently to the ground. The Librarian groaned, his ears twitching in irritation.

It was hard to see from this high up, but Jalal frowned as a few feet from the bottom, Mei's wings seemed to still, and she landed heavily on the ground, listing drunkenly to one side, before slumping against the wall of the staircase.

"Mei?" the Librarian called. "Everything alright?"

There was a mumble from down below. Her wings had vanished and she seemed to be curling in on herself.

"What did you say?" Adrian cupped a hand around his ear.

"Fear spell!" came the shout, causing all three of them to recoil. Mei's voice had broken on the last word, and Adrian swore in a language that even Jalal could not understand.

"Will you two be okay?" the Librarian asked, as he stepped up to the edge of the steps. Jalal nodded, fairly certain that he and Maria could resist the spell long enough to walk down. And even if they did not, that was what protective spells were for.

"Go," he insisted, and the Librarian stepped off the staircase, his trenchcoat flapping out behind him like exotic plumage.

"I need to learn that trick," Maria muttered, eyeing the Librarian's perfect landing with envy. "Look! His hair isn't even ruffled."

Already muttering what he thought might be the counterspell, Jalal smothered a chuckle, and held out an arm to the kyubi. "We can't all be as flamboyant as Adrian. So it looks like another boring leisurely stroll will have to suffice."

In spite of the easiness with which she took his arm, Maria's body was tense as they began to descend the stairs. Each footstep bounced off the wall like a ball in a squash court.

"Starting to think that they don't like guests," Maria commented dryly, eyeing the geometric webs scored into the walls with distaste.

"Hmm...I can sympathise to a degree," Jalal muttered, remembering all too vividly the last time the Shadowchasers HQ had been breached. A shoulder gently nudged his arm, and he snapped out of his musings to see Maria giving him a look.

"So are you done brooding, or do I need to give you the upgraded version of Adrian's speech?"

That drew a chuckle from the half dragon, which was quickly silenced. The echo of laughter going up the tall, empty shaft was more than a little disconcerting. "He would be disappointed to hear that you thought his speech needed upgrading."

He glanced down at the floor below, and saw that the Librarian and his wife had vanished - probably to somewhere a little less depressing. Seeing that Maria's gaze was still fixed, he realised he had not answered her question.

"I'm done," he assured her. "I'm not happy about it by any means, but worrying serves no purpose." He let out a heavy breath. "I just need to get used to the idea that this won't be the first time, and that this worry is probably going to revisit every time she gets into trouble...probably every day when she becomes a Shadowchaser."

Anxiety was teasing at his senses, and he did his best to push it to one side. Any concerns he had about Judy's future safety could wait until after he got her out of this little adventure.

"In my experience," Maria offered thoughtfully. "When parents know that their child is in a job where their life might be in danger, they never stop worrying."

Beneath her hat, her ears had gone perfectly still, and Jalal did not need to ask if she was thinking about her own parents.

"So how do they live with it each day?" he asked, gently. The kyubi shrugged.

"They come to terms with the fact that their child is doing something that makes them happy." She said. "That's the only way you can really win that sort of fight. Do you think Judy will be happy being a Shadowchaser?"

He thought about it, and realised to his shame, that he had never actually asked Judy if it would make her happy. After almost a year of grieving for her father and piecing herself back together after such a dramatic upheaval, she had just started asking for training - tentatively at first, and then with more conviction as she had come to realise that the answer would probably be yes, if she had a good reason for it. And she had concluded eventually, that the best reason would be to become a Shadowchaser. Since then, it was the only thing she had ever wanted to be.

"Yes," he nodded, sure of himself. "It's probably the only thing that would."

"Hmm," Maria nodded. "Sounds like someone else I know."

At some point, her arm had slid from his, and warmth tingled as he felt her fingers interlock with his. He gave them a squeeze.

"It's not the _only_ thing that makes me happy."

Her cheeks went pink, in spite of the gloom that seemed to permeate the stairs. This far down, it was getting heavier, as though trying to push through the spells that kept them safe, and much harder to simply ignore. It occurred to Jalal that Judy and the girls would have had no magic to shield themselves if they had come down here, save for Judy's inherent dragon ability to resist spells to a degree. He wondered what sort of insecurities or memories it might have drawn out of them - he did not have to guess too hard for Judy.

"Are you alright?" he asked, seeing Maria waver slightly on the edge of the step. She nodded.

"Yeah...just starting to feel it a bit." She shivered. "They _really_ don't want visitors. It's not just the spell either - these walls are a bit trippy."

She had a point - the geometric shapes that climbed the walls were starting to make Jalal's eyes hurt. He had to give the drow a grim sort of acknowledgement. Not only did they have a talented spellcaster among them, but they had an eye for unnerving design.

"We're almost there," the half dragon pointed out. Sure enough, they were only one rotation from the bottom. "Do you want me to try a more powerful counterspell?"

She shook her head. "It's fine. I put my demons to bed a long time ago."

It was true. And for that matter, so had Jalal. Still, he could feel them trying to crawl back out as they took those last few steps. Demons never truly went to sleep - that was why they were demons.

The doorway from the staircase was a high arching structure, and walking through it was like having a heavy black cloak suddenly whipped off your shoulders. The spell's reach did not extend past the door, and Jalal's senses reeled a little from the sudden relief. By his side, Maria took a deep, cleansing breath, and let it out heavily, clearly glad to be out in spite of her earlier reassurance.

She blinked twice, before nudging Jalal in the arm and nodding. Against the wall of the ornately decorated chamber, Adrian and Mei were wrapped in a snuggly-looking embrace, with the Librarian affectionately running his fingers through his wife's hair. She looked better than she had sounded five minutes earlier, and as Adrian whispered something in her ear, she managed a small smile.

"You guys are so cute I could wrap you up and put you in a shojo manga," Maria commented, pulling their attention to the door. Both of them started blushing.

"Says the woman with pink hair and fox ears," the Librarian's ears were fluttering - it was very rare to see his friend embarrassed, and Jalal allowed himself a moment to commit the image to memory.

"I don't recommend arguing with Adrian over who's cuter," the half dragon advised his girlfriend, while trying with some difficulty to conceal his smirk.

"Thank you, Jalal."

"He'll just break out the kitty eyes and the sparkles, and then we'll be in all sorts of trouble."

"Hey!" Adrian's lip jutted out into a pout, that sent Jalal and Maria into giggles. It dissolved as his wife tweaked one of his ears affectionately.

"Let's go. This chamber, while magnificently decorated, is really creeping me out."

As they headed together for the door, Jalal realised that Maria had not let go of his hand yet. And, he decided, as he gave her fingers another squeeze, he was absolutely fine with that.

OOO

Death was a paralytic.

Judy knew this well.

As Emily's body seized against the force of the fangs piercing her leg and stomach, all she could do was watch, her heart beating away in her chest. It did not take long for her friend's limbs to go slack against the webbing, and the spider crept forwards, silk already being excreted between its spinnerets. The jolt of heavy steps along the web shook Judy from her daze. It did not feel real. It could not be real, because that would mean Emily was-

 _Dead. Just like dad._

Her sword was in her hand, and her body thrummed with rage. She would not let it happen again!

The web was sticky, but she was beyond the hold of it. Carefully, she crawled her way a precious meter up the web until she was directly behind the back left leg. Emily was almost completely wrapped, like a sick Christmas present. High above from the rim of the pit, Maureen was chuckling. Fury burned through Judy, and she drew her sword and swung for the hairy leg, which was almost as thick as she was.

Metal clanged against the limb, and pain shot up her wrist and arm like fire. It was like hitting a steel bar, and the spider did not even glance up from its meal, wrapping the last of Emily's head from sight. She was astonished - she had expected the beast to squish like all spiders did when you smacked them. A quick glance at the rest of its body told her that its entire exoskeleton was probably armoured in the same way, possibly having evolved to support such enormous mass.

Her eyes were drawn above her head to the spinnerets. It was like a wrinkly prune, and right now, she knew it was her only chance. Securing one foot beneath her, she pushed up and thrust her blade deep between the wriggling appendages. It sank in with a satisfying squish.

The beast shrieked and twisted, almost yanking Judy's arm out of her shoulder. She wrenched her sword free as the hairy body whirled on her, fangs already drawn against this new threat. With a yelp, Judy slipped between two of the huge thick ropes of web, and dropped deeper into the hole as the dangerous fangs pounced. She landed with a bounce on the next web down, her teeth clacking together painfully from the impact. High above, someone - probably Maureen - was shrieking orders.

Hissing at her furiously, the spider weaved its way gracefully between the webs, its eyes fixed on her as she pulled herself off the sticky silk. It was too thick and heavy-duty to cut through this close to the middle, and as the front feet touched down on her level, her unstable platform shook, almost sending her over onto her butt. Carefully, Judy darted around the outside legs, narrowly missing the pair of fangs that snapped for her, diving beneath the belly, and thrusting upwards. Her wrist twisted back from the impact, as the tip of the blade jarred against the exoskeleton. Even the belly felt like it was coated in titanium.

"Don't just stand there!" Maureen was shouting loud enough to raise the dead. "Kill her!"

"I can't! I might hit the spider!" Mora protested, though there was a hint of a smirk to her voice that said she was enjoying the spectacle.

"Oh what use are you?!"

Panting, Judy stumbled as the beast spun around in an attempt to locate the small, nimble prey that had slipped out of its grasp. Her wrist was throbbing, and she was pretty sure she had sprained it, but there was no helping it now. Gritting her teeth, she gripped her weapon again and thrust upward.

This time, the blade glanced off the edge of the armoured carapace and sank deep into flesh. Another hair-raising shriek tore free from the creature, and it staggered away as Judy twisted the blade deeper before ripping it clear. With a scramble of legs, the spider backed away, hauling its massive body up the wall back to the upper web, hissing furiously, but wary now. It was by no means intelligent, but it understood now that this fly bit back, and its six eyes watched her cautiously, as it hunched over its trussed up prey.

She could not keep up this game of cat and mouse forever - the further down the tunnel she went, the more likely it was she would be backed into a dead end. She glanced up between the legs at the blob of white that was her friend. Who knew how long Emily had before the venom damaged something permanently, or before she bled out from those nasty looking wounds?

Her hundreds of immediate concerns vanished from her thoughts, as all of the lights went out with a dramatic snap.

For a moment, there was silence, and Judy could sense nothing but her own breathing as her eyes adjusted to the sudden dimness. She could barely see her own sword in front of her, and anxiety immediately crawled over her skin. But high above, something immense shuffled in the darkness, assessing this new development.

And with sudden understanding, Judy realised what the spider was thinking.

There was far easier prey up there.

Almost as soon as she thought it, the frantic shouts began.

"Get the lights back up!" Mora was yelling, her voice tinged with sudden fear.

But there was no saving them now. With a rustle of legs, the web above Judy moved, and huge legs began to pick their way up the wall with practiced ease. There were fresh screams now, of alarm and terror, as the beast emerged from the hole, knocking the dead spotlights over with a clatter. It hissed as it observed its new surroundings. There was a grunt of someone swinging a weapon, before a short sharp shriek of fear and a squish of fangs put an end to their heroics. For a moment, there was silence, before a crunch of rock indicated eight long, armoured legs, scaling the balconies one by one.

Then the beast was gone, leaving Judy and Emily alone in the pit.

OOO

The screams and crashes froze all four of them in place in the doorway. Maria whistled.

"Somebody's having a party," she quipped.

"That's like no party I've ever been to," Jalal commented, as the floor began to rumble ominously. Something was tapping like legs on an angry march, and the crumbling sounds of rock being gouged out of the walls were getting clearer and clearer. By Jalal's side, Adrian went as white as his fur.

"Out of the way!"

He was not a second late, as a pair of legs appeared over the side of the balcony, hauling a huge, hairy body after it. The group scattered, as another set of legs appeared digging deep into the wall and ripping it out in huge chunks. Flattening its body it scuttled through the newly created gap, and charged through the room, its titanium exoskeleton crashing through the doorway like a battering ram and leaving its way clear up the Nightmare Stairs.

Jalal blinked hard, his mind trying to catch up to the trail of devastation left behind. Across the room, there was a soft rustle of cloth as Maria reappeared from behind her parasol. Adrian had escaped the rampage by turning himself into a kitten, and making himself as small as possible in the corner - he had failed dramatically in this respect, as his fur had poofed up in alarm giving him the appearance of a white feather duster. Mei was curled up in the opposite corner, trembling.

"...did everyone else just see that?" Jalal felt it best to check. He, Adrian and Maria _had_ consumed three bottles of wine before coming down here after all. He got a round of stunned nods in response.

"That's a _hell_ of a party!" Adrian spluttered, as he turned back into a human. His hair remained poofy, and he began smoothing it down.

"Nyeeaaaahhhh…" Mei wailed, pressing herself against the wall, her face paper white. "It's scary! I don't like! I don't like!"

Jalal lifted an eyebrow at his best friend. "I take it Mei is afraid of spiders?"

"What tipped you off?" came the dry reply.

Heavy footsteps echoed behind them, and they turned as a single male dark elf appeared in what had once been a doorway. His wide red eyes followed the carnage, before settling on the four newcomers with a gasp of surprise.

"...oh! It went that way," Jalal said, with a sarcastic finger pointing towards the staircase. The male wisely turned tail and fled in the opposite direction.

"So much for a subtle visit," Maria pointed out, resting her parasol over her right shoulder.

"Why does that thing exist?!" Mei gave another squeak of terror as rock crunched from the next door room, as the spider crawled its way to the top.

"Don't worry, love," Adrian replied in a cheerful voice. "It's just a demon from the underworld that wants your soul!"

The assistant Librarian gave a wail and tried again to press herself into the wall. It resisted stubbornly.

"We should get up there," Maria said, Chivalry already drawn and ready by her side. "If it gets to the surface-"

However much he wanted to charge down and rescue the girls, Jalal knew that she was right. Their first duty was to keep the veil intact, which would be impossible to do if there was a twenty foot spider running around the streets of central London.

"Okay, monster splatting it is!" Adrian declared, whirling and holding a hand out to help his wife off the floor. "C'mon Mei. Let's go have a fight!"

"But it's scary!" the blonde woman whined.

"You have fire magic! Just set it alight!"

"...excuse me?" Mei drew herself upright, an accusing look in her eye. She was an inch taller than her husband, and it showed now. "You _want_ me to set fire to something?"

Adrian groaned. "Yes! Really!"

"Awesome!" suddenly beaming at the prospect of some casual pyromania, Mei bounced on her heels and dashed for the staircase.

"Wow…" Maria blinked. "That was...dramatic."

Adrian shrugged.

"Some women like shoes. Some like yoga...my wife likes fire."

OOO

Mora had never known chaos like this.

She knew the feel of a fight, and no detail escaped her now when she engaged someone in combat. But this was not combat - it was slaughter. And everything blurred into a confusing rush of noise and images. Bright pushing her down as the front legs knocked the useless spotlights flying with a crash into the nearest wall. Kone shrieking as those venomous fangs sank into her chest, the spider shaking her like a dog with a rag before tossing her limp body off to one side. Her mother shouting orders that nobody obeyed, because they were too busy running for their lives.

She must have run too, for she could not remember how she came to be standing in the shelter of the nearest corridor, drawing air heavily into her lungs, as the spider's legs began to scale the wall like a ladder. There was a crash that rumbled the entire city as it battered its way through the wall to freedom.

"My lady?" Bright was calm, in spite of the disaster raging above them. She gave a sharp nod.

"Kishen!" she barked, finding her second bodyguard doubled over against the opposite wall. He squeaked as though she had struck him with her sharp command, and she rolled her eyes. "Oh stop being such a baby! Round up as many men as you can, and get them up top-"

"No!" the shriek reverberated off the walls, and plunged the corridor into total silence. Maureen's eyes were swimming with glee. "Let it climb!"

Mora gaped, stupefied at her mother. "Are you insane?! If it hits the surface, the Shadowchasers will find where it came from! And how forgiving do you think they will be to the community who released that thing, and broke down the veil with it?"

"There won't be any Shadowchasers left to find us," Maureen hissed. "My pet will consume everyone in its path! Every filthy human and Shadowchaser will fall to it, until there is nothing left but us." An almost child-like giggle escaped her. "Lolth will be pleased!"

Kishen and Bright were both taking a few careful steps back, as the leader turned to gaze rapturously up at the huge hole in the wall where the spider had crashed its way toward the surface. Her breathing was quick and harsh, and it took Mora a moment to realise that this was what her mother looked like when she was excited. A shudder curled its way through her body.

"My lady?" Bright was by her shoulder, whispering into Mora's ear as though their leader was an easily startled farm animal. Mind made up, Mora seized both of her bodyguards and dragged them down the corridor.

"Get going!" she hissed, tossing Kishen at the staircase. He blinked at her in confusion.

"But, your mother-"

"Has lost it," Mora declared bluntly. "Get as many men as you can and get up there. If you can't stop it, slow it down. I'll send Amile as soon as we find her." Now that Kone was dead, and Neela and Rhea missing or out of action, Amile was the only one of her mother's advisors left. Mora just hoped that she would listen to common sense over any lingering loyalty, and back her up on this. "Today, Kishen!"

The terrified man scampered up the stairs, leaving them both to listen to the sounds of him tripping over his own feet in haste.

"C'mon," Mora jerked her head towards the ceiling. "Let's go find your mother."

She was almost jerked off her feet as a hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back into the shadow of the stairs.

"Forget my mother and yours, and listen to me for a moment," Bright's arms were either side of her shoulders, pinning her in place against the wall. "The Shadowchasers are coming. Everyone down here is going to be out of a home, if not arrested, before this evening is out."

She gave him the most condescending look possible. "Really? I hadn't noticed," she folded her arms over her chest, wishing they had a little bit of space - it was very hard to think when he was this close. "We're all going down tonight, but at least we won't have to add breaking the masquerade to our list of charges! That's all we can do right now!"

"You can leave."

Above their heads, the city was mobilising - someone had roused at least some of the men to fight - but Mora barely heard their footsteps.

"What?" she breathed.

"Leave now," he spoke calmly, even as that gaze reached out to her. "Go somewhere - anywhere. But get away from here."

Anger and disbelief flowed like a swollen river. Had everyone lost their minds today? "Are you insane?" she demanded, repeating the very question she had asked her mother not a minute earlier. "I can't leave! Where would I-?"

The rest of her question was mumbled half heartedly into a desperate kiss. She yanked away from it, her head slamming back into the wall.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"You said if you did not want me to speak plainly, you would tell me," his voice was urgent now, as the sounds of rock being brutally torn apart high above them began to echo alarmingly through the tunnels. "I'm speaking plainly now. The Shadowchasers will never let you go if you stay here. Your mother is in too deep, and she's not smart enough to know when to quit. But you are. Let her take the blame for this, and run."

Inside, the long hidden part of her that revelled in exploring the surface screamed with longing. But no sooner had it made itself heard, when a creeping feeling stole over her mind like an unwelcome insect.

"They will hate me," she whispered, shame already flooding her like she had already committed to it. "Every drow in the world will say that I ran. That I am a coward."

He gave her a look. "They already hate us – that's what we do! We're raised to hate each other from birth. Staying or going won't change that."

She knew that was not true - there was a very special kind of loathing reserved for deserters in their culture. But did it matter at the end of the day? Maybe he was right.

 _What does he know?_ a little voice whispered in her mind. _He is just a male. You are a priestess. Your life belongs to your community and your goddess, not to the light of the surface..._

Hands were cupping her head, as though trying to shut the voice out.

"Get out now - I'll come with you and keep you safe. You can be who you've always wanted to be, with no one to belittle you, or hold you back."

 _He's in love with me,_ she realised, with a flush of despair and confusion. The surface - the urge to escape - called to her like never before. She was not ready for this…

 _He's a fool,_ the voice caressed her mind, sending a shudder through her. _Lolth's chosen do not run and hide. They stay and fight..._

It was so noisy. The chaos of the spider. Her mother's words. The voice whispering in her mind. Bright holding her close against the wall. There was too much information, all clamouring for her attention. Her head reeled, trying to process it all, even as that horrible prickling sensation continued to nudge at her mind like a thousand tiny legs…

Bright tensed before his body filled her vision, slamming her hard into the wall. The smell of blood sliced through her confusion, and her bodyguard growled before sliding to his knees. She barely had time to process the knife in his back before a hand grasped her by the throat and began to crush her windpipe. Her world reeled as the blood was violently severed from her brain, and she dug her fingernails hard into the grip desperate for relief.

"I always knew you were a worthless, thieving bitch," her mother's voice was almost feral. For the second time that night, Mora felt the press of cold steel against her neck. "But a coward too? I _never_ expected that!"

The insult was twice as damning when it came from her mother. Something flared to life in her chest, and she reached for the knife in her boot, bringing it up and slashing deeply at her mother's wrist. She yelped and dropped the knife, staggering away with a gash open along her arm, creeping up towards her thumb. Air rushed straight back into Mora's lungs, but she did not have time to savour it. Her mother made another furious lunge, a knife in each hand, a mad spark lighting up her eyes.

 _She's going to kill me_ , Mora realised, blocking one knife and deflecting the other. Behind her, Bright was slowly trying to rise, reaching for his own knife, but her mother backed away, putting a good few meters between both women, before lashing out and kicking the male drow in the face. He went down hard, blood spurting from his nose.

 _No._ Mora though, clenching her jaw and steadying knives in both hands. _I'm going to kill her first._

And with a scream of rage, over a hundred years in the making, she flung herself into the fight.

OOO

"Are you _sure_ it's safe?"

Peering over the edge of the pit, Becky gave the half dragon a raised eyebrow.

"It's an electrical cable. It was live two minutes ago. It is currently secured by a generator somewhere down that corridor. I deactivated said generator by smacking the buttons and hitting it with a chair. Of course it's not bloody safe! But I didn't see any convenient lengths of rope on my way here, so it's going to have to do."

Even as she spoke, she backed away from the pit and crept after the cable to check the spot where it vanished into the wall. She skirted widely around Kone's body, still staining the rocks dark with her blood. She was not entirely certain why she was tiptoeing, for the drow had fled for their lives, and the spider was long gone, the crumbling hole in the top floor wall framing its exit. She hoped that it did not make it up to the surface - she was not sure that London was ready for the insect equivalent of Godzilla rampaging around its streets.

"I know you said the veil protects regular people from seeing monsters everywhere they go," she broached, as she made her way back to the hole in the ground. Deep below, Judy was securing the end of the cable around Emily, so that they could pull her up once she had made the climb. "But how does it hide something as big as a spider?"

"It doesn't," Judy replied bluntly, giving Emily a little shake to make sure that she was well and truly glued to the web. "If that thing hits the surface, the veil will be ripped open for everyone."

"And that would be bad?" Becky guessed, crouching by the edge of the pit. She was starting to get the feeling that nothing ended well in this sort of scenario. Around her hands, stray cobwebs floated up from the pit to play around in the draft.

"Catastrophic," Judy assured her, cautiously putting one foot on the wall, and testing her weight. The cable did not shift. "When people get their eyes forcibly opened, it can drive them mad."

"Oh great," Becky rolled her eyes. "No pressure then. Only the sanity of the entire world on our shoulders."

"I said _if_ it hits the surface," Judy point out to her, deciding that the cable was safe enough, and starting her long climb to the top. " _If_ it can climb up the enchanted staircase and some really tight tunnels and _if_ it doesn't run into any Shadowchasers on the way."

A single eyebrow was lifted, as she struggled up to the next ledge. "You're pretty confident of rescue." Becky commented.

"Did I mention that my legal guardian runs the Shadowchasers?"

Becky facepalmed, and spluttered as she accidentally inhaled a handful of cobweb in the process. Peeling them off her lips, she glared down into the hole. "Okay first Emily's magical Library, then that little loophole about fighting with duel monsters, and now your guardian is leader of a secret organisation of magical police. Any other information which could potentially save my life that you'd like to share with me?"

"...he's a half dragon too?"

"Of course he is." Her huff turned into a yelp as Judy's foot slipped off a ledge, and she dropped a meter down the hole. The cable yanked taut, but managed to hold the half dragon's weight. The loose rubble scattered in a shower of dust before plunging down the dark hole. Both girls listened for the tell tale clatter of it striking the bottom of the hole, but no sound materialised.

"Do _not_ try this at home," Judy grunted as she reached for another foothold that was further away but far more secure.

"Yeah, try it in someone else's home," Becky quipped back, wiping sweat off her brow. "Wait, so is that why you want to be a Shadowchaser? Because your half dragon guardian leads it?"

Judy took a moment to catch her breath, before wedging her foot into another crevasse and pulling herself up further. She was now half way up the side of the pit.

"Kinda," she admitted. "I mean, I didn't always. Like any self respecting eight year old, I wanted to be a Disney Princess."

Laughter bubbled up from Becky's throat, chiefly because she had harboured a similar ambition at that age. "What changed?"

Judy's smile grew a little fixed, and she direct the comment to her next foothold. "Life has an interesting way of shuffling your priorities. Dad died. Jalal took me in. Maybe if I'd been able to help, instead of just waiting to be rescued…" she shook her head, briskly. "Anyway. Suddenly being a princess wasn't that appealing anymore."

Becky wondered if she should point out that modern feminism often meant that a lot of Disney princesses tended to save themselves these days, instead of waiting around to be rescued. From the look on Judy's face though she suspected that would not go down well, so she wisely shut her mouth. She had a feeling that Judy did not want pity, though it certainly did not stop Becky from feeling it for her. She could not imagine that there was such a thing as a _good_ age to lose your parents, but eight was cruel - old enough to understand what death was, but too young to understand why it had to happen.

"And anyway," Judy growled as a particularly hard to reach ledge forced her to stretched her legs further than comfortable. "It's not like Jalal told me I was taking this job. I've just never wanted to be anything else." She huffed a few strands of hair from her face. "Well...maybe a violinist. But you can't really make money off that unless you're really good."

Becky blinked. "You play violin?"

"Grade six. I needed a way to fill the nights. Half dragons only sleep about four hours."

"Huh…" Becky blinked, before smiling, pleased that she and her new friend had something in common. "I did singing, but I only got up to grade three."

She dropped flat onto her stomach as Judy came within grabbing range. A few tugs later, she was up and over the edge.

"Ahh sweet ground!" Judy flopped onto her back, looking very pleased with herself. "Whoa, did it do _that_?!"

She pointed to the giant spider-shaped hole in the top floor.

"Yup," Becky nodded. "And at the risk of it returning home for a snack, I say we remove our crazy munchkin from the scene."

Taking up the cable once again, they began to pull. Becky frowned as they encountered resistance. The sticky webs clung to the wrapped cocoon, reluctant to release their friend.

"Put your back into it!" Judy goaded, cheerfully.

"Hey, not all of us can have mythical superpowers." Becky returned dryly, letting out a small cheer as Emily finally began to peel away from the web. "And speaking of mythical things, where on earth did they get such a big spider?"

"I have no idea," Judy shook her head. "Mora's mother seems to think that Lolth gave it to them."

"...did she?" Becky asked nervously. She was okay with giant spiders, but if there were going to be deities showing up next, she would need a nap first. There was only so much her brain could take in one day.

"It's possible," Judy shrugged. "But I think their illustrious leader is a few cards short of a full deck, so it's more likely they just happened across a very big spider, and she read into it too far. Drow have been known to keep them as pets."

A few of the threads snapped, as Emily's cocoon finally broke free of the web, and hit the wall, none too gently.

"Oooh that's going to leave a mark," Becky winced guiltily, as both of them started pulling. Meter by meter, the limp body started to rise up the side of the wall like a thick white slug.

"Yeah, she won't thank us for that," Judy nodded in agreement, tossing a few strands of hair out of her face, as they worked. "You're not scared of spiders then?"

"Nope. Bees, yes. And I give snakes a very wide berth. If you've ever watched your uncle being chased by a black mamba you'd understand."

"Mmm…" Judy nodded, in a thoughtful fashion, and Becky's shoulders slumped.

"Oh no...really?" she asked.

"Well I've yet to meet a race of bee people," Judy admitted, giving a sympathetic smile, before going back to the task of hauling their friend to safety. "But yeah. Snake people are called ophidia."

Becky gave a shudder. "Great. This evening is getting better and better. Any other species or deities I should stay away from?"

Judy pursed her lips. "If you ever run into a five-headed dragon called Tiamat, turn and run in the opposite direction."

"...I think I need to lie down," Becky muttered weakly, as they dragged Emily to the edge of the hole. Not feeling like moving while she processed all the new information, Becky took the full weight, as Judy knelt down to haul her over the edge and onto solid ground.

"You weigh a tonne Emily," she groused, rolling her flat onto her back, and slicing through the cable with her sword. Even though Judy had assured her when she had arrived, seeing the slow rise and fall of Emily's chest through the web was a huge relief to Becky, and some of the anxiety wound through her body like an elastic band eased.

"Does she do that thing with you too?" she asked, finding the knife she had pilfered earlier and slicing away at the sticky membrane around Emily's face. In spite of her friend's reassurances, she was well aware that it was nothing like sculpting. "Where she thinks you're calling her fat?"

"My God, yes! All the time!" Judy said, her voice huffy with exasperation. "I don't know what she's complaining about - all her weight is in her boobs! What was it she once said on facebook?" She adopted a smug voice. " _Foxblades. Holding skyscrapers up with our cleavage for almost thirty years_."

Becky snorted, as she peeled back the last of the web, bringing her friend's face came into view. She was definitely still breathing. There was a nasty colour to her skin, but it was the pale sickness that came from venom, not the blueish purple tinge that indicated cyanosis.

"She needs a hospital," she concluded.

"I agree," Judy was nodding, her eyes scanning the height of the city. "Let's find an exit. I don't fancy leaving the way we came in." She gestured with the hilt of her sword towards the ceiling, where the large hole was still visible. "Think you can carry her? I'll be more use defending."

"No joke," Becky commented idly, as she slung Emily over one shoulder. She wasn't light by any means, but she could manage a fast waddle. "I need to go back to the gym. I'm feeling distinctly un-badass compared to you."

Judy snorted. "I've just been lucky tonight. Dragons have weaknesses too."

Becky raised a sceptical eyebrow, as they set off for one of the tunnels. "Such as?"

"We can have fears just like humans can. And we're easily distracted by shiny things," Judy admitted. "Some species worse than others. Jalal has a weakness for good food. My dad liked to collect artwork with beautiful women in it."

A smile that was equally amused and sad slipped onto her face. The sight of it made Becky want to hug her, as they picked their way through broken equipment and dead bodies. It was a bit of levity, which she sorely needed. A reminder that for every vampire, giant spider and snake person that she now knew to exist out there, beneath it you still had similar moments of happiness and grief.

An unsettling thought dawned, as they cautiously advanced down the nearest corridor.

"Hey Judy?"

"Yeah?"

"...just for my own peace of mind, Slenderman isn't real is he?"

The look Judy gave her was one of flat, uncontrollable terror, and it made Becky smile. It was a relief to know that even the badass half dragon had her own irrational fears.

"...not that I've seen. But…"

"But what?"

"Well...this is the other side of the veil. Who knows what's really real?"

OOO

 **A/N:** Almost there! Just one more chapter to go. Don't forget to review!

 **Shadowchaser Files**

 **Mei Bennu-Spritter, The Assistant Librarian**

" _Fire solves all the problems and if it doesn't, I just haven't used enough of it yet!"_

During his tenure as Librarian, Adrian has performed a number of actions that have caused others to question his sanity. One of the most notable was when he allowed an odd group of teenagers and young adults to use the Library as a base of operations for their Mary-Sue hunting group, in a vain effort to curb their fangirl-driven caffeine-fuelled vigilantism. Rather than temper the group however, Adrian got swept up in the movement, joined their ranks and fell in love with the second in command.

But that's a story for another day.

Years on from that, Mei now serves as Assistant Librarian, as well as holding the title of Adrian's long suffering, overly sarcastic but deeply loyal wife. She briefly served as Librarian, while Adrian was indisposed on account of being dead for nine months, but now splits her time between Mary-Sue hunting, and managing the day to day running of the Library while her husband is out retrieving books. She is polite and happy to help visitors, however intruders, the arrogant, and rude people can expect dry wit, a sharp tongue and enough sarcasm to cause a flood of biblical proportions.

Unlike her husband, Mei does not have a broad range of magic to call upon, and her ability to use every day spells is somewhat limited. She makes up for this by being a master of Juari-Ken, an ancient style of fighting which combines fire attacks with swordplay. Her sword is four foot long, named Nephthys, and will shrink down to a pendant when not in use. She has a line of hieroglyphs tattooed up the inside of each arm, signifying her mastery of her chosen fighting style. She can flashstep, and takes great pleasure from being faster than her husband.

Like most residents of the Library, Mei has several hobbies to keep herself from going mad. She is a professional belly dancer, mostly performing Egyptian, Gothic and Tribal Fusion, and gets supremely angry when she hears anyone comparing it to erotic dancing. Being of tall stature, she also utilises her spare time to make her own clothes.

 **Origins:** As with Adrian, Mei began as my author avatar in the Anti-Cliche and Mary-Sue Elimination Society. Since the underlying joke of the series was the hypocrisy of combatting Mary-Sue's with Self-Inserts, I tried very hard never to take Mei (or indeed, any of the characters) too seriously. It was a remarkably liberating experience, and while I admit there was a lot of self-indulgence, I did my best to make her grow as a character (whether I've grown similarly in real life is up for debate).

In case anyone was curious, 7th Librarian and I are an inversion of the Real Life Writes The Plot trope. Adrian and Mei got together a year and a half before we did (though we got engaged first).

 **Deck:** Since Mei serves as my avatar, I tend to use my real life deck for her. Unlike Adrian, Mei does not have a large variety of decks, and is very firmly married to the one. Her cards are dominantly spellcasters, with Endymion serving as a focal point. The only non-spellcaster in her deck is the Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys, her favourite card. She makes it work by using Hand of Nephthys, often in conjunction with Apprentice Magician. She has no real set up, or strategy beyond "do as much damage as humanly possible until the life points reach zero". Though it is not perfect, this fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants attack is surprisingly effective.

Mei has never got to grips with Synchro Monsters and genuinely cannot be bothered to include any in her deck. Xyzs and Pendulums also give her a headache, and as a result, she refuses to use them.


	8. Chapter 8: More Haste Less Speed

**Shadowchasers: Sweet Sixteen**

 **by Mei1105**

 **Chapter 8: More Haste Less Speed**

The spider had never been designed to tunnel its way through the earth. But it was determined, and it could manage it, slowly and steadily, by scraping its titanium plated legs against the wall and crumbling rock away. The beautiful carvings that had adorned the walls for so long were shredded like paper, as it began to gouge its legs at the tunnel entrance to widen the small gap. It could taste freedom through the long, twisting, narrow shaft. It tasted like prey.

"Why...stairs! Why not...a lift?!"

"Oh stop whining! I offered to magic you all up here-"

"No thanks Adrian - the last time you teleported me, I had vertigo for two weeks. I'll never travel using your magic again."

"You told me that half dragons didn't get vertigo!"

"And we don't - providing Adrian doesn't feel the need to show off with his magic."

"Don't knock it! It's getting you up here, depression free!"

The spider paid no heed to the bickering group appearing behind it, out of breath from climbing, merely continuing to claw its way through the wall.

"Okay…" Maria was the first to regain her breath. "Anyone got a large shoe, or are we opting for the glass and postcard method?"

"Stop it's ascent first," Jalal ordered, his own sword already by his side. "Take out the legs." He felt a little conflicted, but capturing it was probably not going to be possible, and if it got to the surface there would be no fixing the damage it would cause to the population.

Maria gave a nod, and charged up the next flight of steps, Mei blurring past her in flight to take out the other side. Exchanging a quick look with Adrian, the Librarian gave the half dragon a toothy smile.

"Don't worry," he said. "Someday we'll all go out on a date and _not_ have to destroy an eldritch abomination before coffee."

Jalal gave him a sceptical look, as one of the spider's back legs was suddenly severed with a screech of pain that rattled the walls. "And pigs fly, do they Adrian?" he asked dryly.

"Well, funnily enough, there is this one world where bacon is magical-"

"IN YOUR OWN TIME, BOYS!" Mei's voice reverberated around the staircase, as flames licked the spider's face, causing it to shriek in discomfort. Behind her, Maria was darting her way beneath the huge creature's belly, seeking out a weak point.

"Coming, dear!"

OOO

She wasn't a bad fighter.

In fact, she was a very good fighter.

It was just that her mother was better.

And that hurt Mora more than the little blows that kept sliding past her guard. Her arms stung from light cuts that had nicked at her wrist and elbow. A nasty gash had found its way onto her shoulder, and stung as she tried to move her left arm to block another strike that would have taken out her left eye. She had driven her back through the twisting maze of corridors with ease.

No wonder she had been able to slice the last leader's throat. Her mother was quick, and unlike a lot of fast fighters, it did not make her blows less powerful. Metal clashed with an angry scream. The tip of another blade sliced through the air and drew a thin trickle of blood.

"Hold still you little slut!" Maureen snarled, looking positively unhinged. Her hair had come loose from its strict confines, and her face was almost feral with hate.

Gaining enough ground to brace herself, Mora just glared, her every focus centered on dodging the next series of blows. If she hadn't known better that she was the priestess in this group, she would have sworn her mother had grown eight arms.

Inspiration hit like a spark, and as the next blow swung, she twisted her knife as they clashed. The two weapons angled off each other badly, Maureen's own momentum sending her crashing into the wall. Whirling fast, Mora's fingers snapped, and spider silk glued her mother's arm to the stone. Howling in rage, she reversed her grip and tossed it at her daughter, forcing Mora to drop hard to the stone. She landed badly on her wrist and pain shot up her arm as the tendons struggled to accommodate the new angle.

As she rolled to her back, her eyes widened in fear, as her mother ripped her arm free of the wall with a scream. Skin had torn where the sticky threads had refused to yield and patches of Maureen's arm began to bleed as she pulled another knife from her clothing and advanced. Rolling back to her feet, Mora almost faltered as a quake shook the ground and a roar of crashing stone thundered from the tunnel that they had just left.

 _Bright!_ The powerful and confusing urge to run back seized Mora's legs with indecision and she barely brought her arm up in time to guard against the strike that would have speared her heart. Screeching in agony, she shoved her aggressor away, leaving a deep wound to her forearm. Seeing her mother stagger as she slammed into the opposite wall, Mora flipped her own remaining knife and threw it. She missed, but the blade stuck in the nearby electrical panel, sending wires free. Her mother shrieked in furious agony as electrical sparks flew like firework briefly.

Before Mora could seize the advantage to either attack or run, Maureen was slamming into her bodily. "Bitch!"

Her mother's knife plunged into her shoulder, the spitting of lights as their power failed them lost to her scream of pain. She shuffled for her footing, lost it and Maureen started shoving her back down the tunnel with far more force than the slender drow should really have been capable of at her age.

Maureen's hair was smoldering, burning away slowly and the magma-like trail of blood down her face made her triumphant expression look like something out of a horror movie. Mora's vision swam as she was slammed bodily against the tunnel wall, then her mother vindictively slammed her head against it again and darkness tugged at the edges of her sight.

But Mora didn't need to see to fight - not when her mother was this close. As Maureen slammed her again, she drove her finger into the wound on the elder drow's face. Maureen howled in fresh pain, her reflexive jerking motion ripping it wider and she reeled backwards, releasing Mora to try and stem the blood.

Fumbling fingers found the knife still her shoulder, still lodged in place by sheer chance. Mora tore it free and hurled it as hard as she could at her mother.

Maureen only just saw it coming and batted it away, the knife slashing into some more dangling cables and a fresh rain of sparks poured down on the matron's head. Her hair ignited fully and her flesh burned almost in reverse as it went from black to an ugly seared red.

But none of this diminished Maureen's perceived glory, only magnified her megalomanic expression. "I'm still alive, brat...and when I throw you to my little pet, I will get what should have been mine by rights!"

She lunged, Mora backpedaled into the wall, slipped on something and half-collapsed. Maureen's charge glanced off her, but she grabbed desperately onto her daughter's body with one arm. For a long moment, they grappled, kicking and biting and clawing at every bit of their relative that looked like it might hurt.

Mora kicked out, shoving her mother out into a standing position and away from her, then found her own dropped knife and whipped it as hard as she could.

Maureen dodged easily, but her foot caught in a trailing cord. She swayed, clawing at the wall for support and hauled herself upright. Her hair still flaming like a campfire, oozing blood and coated in burns and a furiously happy expression on her face, she looked like she'd just stepped out of hell.

Then Mora punched her as hard as she could in the face.

It was almost comical as Maureen's face twisted into one of total surprise, as if she could not quite comprehend that despite the fact they were trying to kill one another, Mora had hit her own mother in the face.

Or, perhaps, it was the terror at finding there was nothing but air to step back onto as she plunged backwards into the spider pit. Stray strands snagged at her arms and legs like little fluffy clouds, as she tumbled head first down the deep hole, her head striking the edge of the pit hard, before she landed on the top-most web, bouncing like a child on a very odd trampoline. Her body was limp, and motionless.

Panting, and still oozing blood from her shoulder, Mora staggered to the edge to see what she had done. Something clattered against her foot, and she bent down, almost dreamlike, to retrieve her knife, before peering down into the darkness, just to be sure. She need not have worried. Her mother was pinned in the bottom of the pit, and completely at her mercy.

 _FInish her. Finish her!_

Her racing thoughts screeched to a halt, and with a deliberately steady breath, she lowered the knife that had crept up in readiness. She did not need to kill her. Either she would be arrested by Shadowchasers, and take the fall to better cover her escape, or the spider would come back, searching for an easy meal. There would be a certain amount of karma in letting her mother get eaten by her own pet…

 _Don't be stupid! Bury that knife in her throat!_

Something dark was creeping over her head, making her skin prickle. Her body trembled, and her heart began to race. With a jerk of her right hand, she sheathed her knife, and took off toward the nearest exit, trying not to think about how her left hand now twitched desperately in temptation.

OOO

Her ears caught the unmistakable noise of hurrying footsteps. The drow were heading for the fight. Not for the first time that evening, Judy wondered why they did not take the more sensible option of fleeing while they had the chance.

"Someone's coming," Becky whispered. Nodding, Judy leaned into the nearest door, and gently pushed it open. Boxes were piled high around the walls, and she tucked them both behind one as the small group of men hurried past the door.

"It's all kicking off up there," Judy predicted, as the last one vanished. "C'mon. We need that ambulance."

They slipped out, and immediately, Judy picked up the sounds of more footsteps - this time, a lone set. Pressing a finger to her lips, she sidled up to the end of the corridor, with her back against the wall. The incoming drow had barely finished buckling his belt before she pounced, shoving him hard into the wall and pressing the sword into his throat.

"No screaming," she warned, a low growl seeping into her tone. "Just tell us nice and quiet, where the nearest exit is."

Swallowing hard against the blade in his windpipe, the man pointed. "Turn right. Follow the corridor until you reach the T-junction. Take the left path and then the door at the very end. You'll find an exit tunnel through there."

Not dropping her glare for an instant, Judy stepped back, keeping her sword pressed against the soft flesh, until only the tip remained. "Thank you dear. You can go back to your half dressed walk now." She jerked the tip of her sword towards the door. "Go on, skedaddle."

He wisely bolted. Becky whistled.

"You've done that before."

"So many times," Judy gave a resigned sigh, shaking her head as she re-sheathed her sword. "It's very detrimental to one's dating life."

Her companion laughed so hard that Emily was in danger of sliding off her shoulder.

"So...you have a sword?" she decided to ask, as they set off in the right direction. Judy glanced down at her weapon as though she had forgotten that it was there, and laughed.

"Yeah. Everyone gets one made for them specially," she rolled her eyes. "I wanted a lightsabre, but Jalal said that wasn't 'realistic'."

"...so you can have magic, and superpowers," Becky drawled. "But a sword with an energy blade is unrealistic?"

"I know, right?"

"And everyone uses one?" Becky asked, her scepticism crawling back into her voice.

"Yep," Judy nodded. "We don't usually deal with guns in our line of work."

"...because they're illegal, right?" came the curious question. Unlike the US, the UK had tight restrictions on firearms, and consequently, one of the lowest rates of gun violence in the world. Handguns were effectively banned, rifles and shotguns were subject to strict controls, and most civilian police were unarmed.

"Partly," Judy nodded. "But also they don't really do any damage to most Shadows. When I said I was tough as nails, I meant it. You could unload an entire clip into me and it would barely break my skin - wouldn't even touch me, if I were using magic to protect myself. Shadowchasers get that training too. So swords are our best bet."

She turned her head to see Becky pondering as she walked. "...would be useful to dodge bullets." She muttered.

Judy gave her a look. "Do you regularly get shot at?"

"No," Becky shook her head. "But...well, put it this way. Most kids get cheap caps and sunglasses before they go on family holidays. Before our last trip to South Africa, Mum put Andi and I on a women's self defence course, and gave us rape alarms."

As they turned left at the T-junction, Judy pulled a face. "Sounds...reassuring. And I thought South Africa was a nice place."

"Oh it is," Becky nodded, shifting Emily into a more comfortable spot on her shoulder. "It's beautiful. But like a lot of places, there are parts of it that you just avoid if you are sensible."

She was probably right, Judy considered, remembering that South Africa was one of the few countries where the local Shadowchasers were authorised to issue bribes at their discretion.

The corridors were starting to regain their geometric grid design along the walls, and Judy blinked as the pattern seemed to warp her eyes. Shaking her head, she found the door at the end, and pushed into it.

"Huh," Becky nodded in approval of the spacious workshop. "My little sister would feel right at home here."

"So would Em," Judy indicated their unconscious friend, as she picked her way around the two stationary D-Wheels. One of them was missing sections of its casing, but otherwise both looked functional. Lining the wall were two large workbenches, with tools and bits of equipment taking up most available space.

"I think this might be our way out," she nodded at the back wall of the shop, where a metal shutter was secured against the floor. Snapping the padlock with a pair of nearby cutters, Judy rolled it up and grinned.

"And I'm right!" She gestured to the tunnel beyond. "Love it when that happens! Pop our crazy munchkin on that sofa, and let's find some keys for these things."

"Wait, you can drive?" Becky asked, frowning at her, with Emily hanging off her awkwardly by one arm.

"I expect so," Judy shrugged blithely. "It's that sort of day."

Wading their way around boxes and bits of machinery, she took the nearest desk and began pulling out the drawers.

"Keys, keys, keys, keys..." Becky chanted hopefully, as she kicked a roll of wire away. Seeing the odd look from the half dragon, she blushed. "It works! I heard it on QI. If you say the word over and over it helps your brain make the connection to where you last saw them."

"I think that only works if they're your keys and you lost them in the first place though," Judy pointed out. "Not if they belong to-"

"Found them!" Becky singsonged, toeing a box out of the way and heading for the door, where the keys dangled off two coat hooks. Judy could only facepalm. Loudly.

There was a bang, as the door was kicked violently inwards, slamming into Becky and knocking the wind out of her. Mora was frozen in the doorframe, bleeding from numerous cuts, astonishment clear on her face. Judy reached for her bag, but before she could remove her sword, the drow had seized Becky by the front of her shirt and shoved her backwards over the boxes and straight into Judy's side. Sticky spider threads materialised around them, glueing both girls together.

"So that's what being hit by a door feels like…" Becky muttered through pain.

"Really?" Mora asked, shaking silk from her fingers. " _Really_? How the hell did you get ou..." she paused before shaking her head. "You know what? Fuck it. I don't care any more."

She marched back to the door and grabbed the remaining key. Judy winced and tried to twist enough so that she could see. For something so flimsy looking, she was getting more bruises off spiders silk tonight than she cared to count. Becky groaned, at their awkward position and began struggling against their restraints. They were not completely encased, and Judy reckoned she could reach her sword if she could just get her hand around far enough.

"Where are you going?" Becky demanded, yelping as Judy accidentally kicked the back of her leg.

"Away!" their captor snapped. Judy's head snapped up, and she immediately forgot about her sword.

"What, forever?"

"NO!" The word hit with the force of a slap, and rage seemed to twist Mora's features into something feral. Both captive girls froze, and Judy could feel her heart picking up the pace, for reasons she was not even sure of herself. Something powerful wrestled for control in Mora's eyes - fear, and just a hint of guilt. She shook her head and screwed her eyes up. "Maybe...it's none of your fucking business!"

Roughly, she seized Emily's limp cocoon from the sofa and flung her onto the back of the D-Wheel.

"Hey, that's our crazy munchkin!" Judy's paralysis broke at the sight of her friend being tossed around like a sack of flour.

"No, she's my human shield," Mora corrected, straddling the bike and kicking it into life. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed a lighter off the desk, flicked it to life, and tossed it onto the sofa. The cheap fabric immediately began to smoke. Panic seized Judy and she fumbled for her bag again.

"Get back here with our munchkin!" Becky yelled furiously, but Mora was already revving the engine, and taking off down the open tunnel towards the exit. The flames spread along the cushions, quickly gaining momentum as they swallowed up the back of the sofa like a hungry mouth. Already Judy could feel the heat on her face.

"What do we do?" Becky peered over her shoulder at the half dragon.

"You get off my arm so I can reach my sword!" Judy insisted, her stomach lurching as Becky rolled them both away. Her arm twisted freely around to her bag, and she dug around for the blade.

"Uh oh…" Becky muttered, as the flames licked across the sofa and up the boxes stacked beside it. Toxic smoke began to pool in a cloud above their heads, the taste bitter as it clawed down their throats. "Judy!"

"I'm on it!" Her wrist still hurt from striking the spider earlier, but Judy grit her teeth together and twisted the blade out of its confinement, slipping the end of it between her stomach and the thread. With a swift slice, their restraints fell away, and both girls rolled apart.

"Thank you," Becky muttered, rubbing her cheek where the door had struck her. The fire was taking hold of the room at a frightening pace, and Judy's breaths were starting to get tight. Bagging her sword again, she grabbed the discarded keys.

"Get on!" she ordered, tossing the helmet to her friend. "I have a harder skull than you do." She pointed out, as Becky looked at it in blank confusion.

"...but you're not planning on crashing, right?" Becky asked, her breath wheezing into a cough at the end.

"Nobody plans on crashing," Judy pointed out, turning the key. To her relief, the bike started perfectly. "Hold on!"

As the flames tightened their hold on the room, the bike revved loudly against the inferno, and shot like a bullet after their kidnapper.

OOO

Adrian flexed his neck and a few of his vertebra popped in response.

"Well that was tedious…"

A few feet away, Jalal loudly facepalmed. The smell of burning was cloying at his nose, as Mei cheerfully set the freshly dissected corpse alight. "That was rather anti-climatic…"

"Jalal, I essentially tell gods off to their faces, and hit them with books when they're being stupid. This is... _was_ a spider. A giant spider, yes. but one nonetheless. Had I my Megazord, I would have simply stomped it flat." Adrian dusted off one of his sleeves. "However, out of respect for the massive amount of paperwork, media conferences and angry letters from the Queen that would cause you, I have simply defeated it in a safe, humane manner."

"...your thoughtfulness touches me deeply," the leader of the Shadowchasers drawled.

"Excuse _me_?!" came an offended voice from behind the Librarian. Adrian's ears pressed flat to his head and he turned sheepishly to face their companions.

"What's all this ' _I defeated it'_ nonsense, Librarian?" Maria asked, folding her arms and glaring. "I didn't see you taking out its legs and putting those upper cuts into its belly! And I definitely didn't see you burning out its eyes and almost getting eaten by pincers!"

"Told you, darling," Mei shook her head. "We get no respect or recognition when their badass male egos are in the way."

"So who was it, then, who neutralized its venom, and teleported you both out of the path of a falling abdomen that would have surely ruined your hats?" Adrian asked pointedly.

"Don't you bring our hats into this, Librarian!"

"...okay, I'm going up to the surface to call for backup and clean up," Jalal announced. "Everyone okay with that?"

Mei strolled up to her husband and put every centimeter of her two inches over his height to work. "Mister Spritter, are you implying - nay, insinuating - that you deserve a portion of the kill credit?"

"I do." Adrian's tail gave a long slow ripple. "Otherwise, one phoenix is going to find her bed unusually cold tonight."

"Oh sure - you have to threaten me with no cuddles to win an argument. That _totally_ makes you sound right."

"...I'll be upstairs if anyone wants me," Jalal sighed, before trudging heavily to the staircase.

 _Next time,_ he thought to himself. _Maria and I are definitely going on a date by ourselves._

OOO

 _You're running._

"No I'm not."

The noise from the bike was terrible. The tunnel, which five minutes ago had felt like her only escape, now closed in around her like a cage.

 _You're fleeing. Scared of a few Shadowchasers._

"I'm not scared!"

 _Too scared to finish your mother off properly, or to put a knife through those two girls. You're a coward._

"Get out of my head!" Recklessly she twisted the throttle and the bike doubled in speed. That rattling noise had started again, banging like a hammer against her ears.

 _Not a chance. I'm always watching you, my priestess._ Always...

The voice prickled against her mind like a swarm of insects, and Mora felt tears swim in her eyes.

OOO

Mora was a decent driver, Judy concluded.

The trouble was, she was driving like all the legions of hell were on her tail.

The endless tunnel turned into street in a dizzying second, buildings swallowing them up, and cold February air biting deep into bare skin. Traffic was almost non existent at this time of night, and Judy thanked every deity around for that little assistance as Mora zipped around the parked cars that lined the dead road. Not wanting to lose her in this maze of shops and houses, Judy pushed the bike as fast as it would go.

"Where are we?" she shouted, hoping that Becky could hear her over the roar of the wind. The street was lined with shops, but that could mean anything. She felt Becky's fingers dig into her side as she craned her head around.

"Hammersmith!" she called in her ear, as they took the slipway up onto the upper dual carriageway. "Nope - the A4! Christ she's fast!"

Up here, between the taller buildings, the wind was howling, nipping hard at Judy's ears. A steady trickle of traffic still lingered on the busy road, but Mora was swerving between them with little concern for the Highway Code, or the safety of other drivers. A symphony of car horns were left in her wake. It wouldn't be long before they had police after them too.

"We're not going to chase her like this onto the motorway?!" Becky pleaded, her fingers gripping Judy's waist tighter with each near suicidal swerve. They were starting to get their own chorus of angry drivers.

A single thought blazed through Judy's mind, and she hastily pulled up the sat nav.

"Actually," she called back, jabbing a finger at an all too familiar ring of yellow. "That's exactly what we're going to do!"

A lorry beeped obnoxiously at them as they overtook it, but Becky did not seem to notice this time, peering over her shoulder to look at the screen.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Can you turbo duel?" Judy paused, before blushing in the racing street lights. "That was a really stupid question, wasn't it?" If you couldn't drive until you were seventeen, you definitely couldn't turbo duel until you were seventeen. Reaching back with one hand, she twisted her bag around until it was wedged between them.

"Get the iPad and my deck and do exactly what I tell you!" she barked, before picking up speed to catch the fleeing drow. She was not going to lose her now. There was no way around it. If Mora wanted to escape London, she was going to have to go through one of the UK's most infamous motorways to do so. And when she did, Judy and Becky would be ready for her.

OOO

There was blood on the floor.

Like a child painting with sponges it smudged along the carved tiles as Bright pulled himself agonisingly up the corridor. Above his head, the sounds of fleeing and fighting drifted in and out of his mind like a dancer. Already he suspected that various drow were taking advantage of the chaos to improve their own standing, butchering rivals and settling old grudges. Unless they were smart, they would still be down here when the Shadowchasers finally arrived.

 _You're not even going to make it that far_ , his own mind taunted him. It sounded remarkably like his mother. _You're bleeding out all over Kone's neat floor. By the time the Shadowchasers get here, you will have run out of life to spare._

He could not believe that. Because that only left him with one option, and that was one he refused to take. He would not leave Mora to her mother. He did not believe for a second that she would lose to their psychotic leader, but that did not matter. It was his job to protect her, and more importantly, he wanted to...

 _What you want does not matter. It has never mattered._

She mattered. Growling he shoved himself back to his feet. Both wounds pulled, and what little blood remained rushed to his head, leaving him leaning heavily against the wall. Ahead of him, the corridor had crumbled against an onslaught of magic, and his heart sank. He would never get through that, and if he had to go around...

 _Only one thing matters now._

The voice filled his head. The only one apart from her's that he had ever really listened to.

 _Survive. At any cost._

Mora was the cost. But he could not help her if he died.

Hating himself with every breath, Bright turned, and began to drag himself, one step at a time, towards the nearest emergency exit.

OOO

London had not been purposefully designed, as such. It was a mish-mash of centuries of practicality, grandeur and progress, dumped on top of each other, with roads crisscrossing everywhere in a way that gave the average American tourist nightmares. Consequently there were some things it had never been designed for.

Turbo duelling was one such thing.

Transport For London had nervously watched as the phenomenon had exploded, first in Japan, then in Hong Kong, and then over the rest of the far east, spreading like the Norovirus on a cruise ship. Pretty soon word came that America's first turbo duelling tracks were being constructed as a way of encouraging tourism and easing congestion, and the TFL had resigned themselves to the knowledge that this wasn't just a momentary phase of a few hardcore card gamers, and that the building of a new road was imminent. But where on earth to place it, when the city had such limited space as it was?

The answer had proven to be remarkably simple, and London's first turbo duelling road had been constructed right alongside the M25, forming a perfect ring all around the city, and making it the longest turbo track in the world. Commuters had been delighted at being able to break up their journey to work with quick card games, and the congestion had eased dramatically.

The lights of the orbital motorway were in sight now that they had left the glow of Heathrow Airport behind them. Mora was still breaking every speed law imaginable and twice Judy had caught her breath, certain that their enemy was about to go up in a ball of flames as she swerved, cut across other vehicles with reckless abandon, and flirted far too close with the lorries. From Becky's constant mantra of swearing, she was not doing much better.

"Jesus barrel-rolling Christ!" Becky shrieked and her death grip on Judy's waist re-appeared like an unwelcome corset, as their D-Wheel overtook two cars and a white van at once. "Judy, are you sure about this?!"

"Yes!" the half dragon hollered, for the sixth time in the last fifteen minutes. "Stop asking me that! Just get ready. As soon as she hits the slip, I want you in her machine!"

Peering through the darkness, she caught sight of the D-Wheel, closing the gap to the orbital motorway. The bundle that was Emily, was still draped over the back like a sack of mail. Judy could not imagine how on earth she had not fallen off yet. In addition to which, the closer she got, the more she was certain she could hear a funny rattling noise underneath the roar of Mora's engine. Travelling close to a hundred miles an hour was clearly not doing it any favours.

"Can't believe Emily has an iPad that can hack D-Wheels!" Becky repeated.

"It's the Library Arcanium! Their computer is sentient! She could probably hack MI6, The Pentagon and Chinese Intelligence before breakfast!" In fact, Judy had a strong suspicion that now they were out in the open again, the Library's computer system was working overtime. With a solid lock on their location since they had emerged from underground, the Library staff would be on their way if they weren't already, and by default, that meant the Shadowchasers would not be far behind. In fact, now that Judy thought about it, that might go some way to explaining the distinct lack of police involved in their high speed bike chase.

The massive motorway was approaching, still occupied even at midnight. Mora was already peeling off to the inside lane. Judy tensed over the bike and put on another burst of speed to close the gap, as the bike in front began to climb the slip.

"Got her!" Becky called, her face lit up in the glow of the iPad. Mora's bike clearer the top of the slip and instantly its speed began to drop as her bike curved towards the inside track.

"And so do I!" Judy grinned as they closed the gap between their opponent. It did not take long for Mora's frustrated shrieks to become perfectly audible.

"What's the phrase, Mora?" Judy called in a mocking tone. "More haste, less speed?"

She got a death glare in return.

"So clever...you're both so clever! Not for much longer! If it's a duel you want, then that's what you'll get!"

"You sounds just like your mother," Judy shot back.

A mechanical voice filtered through the speakers. " _Turbo Duel initiated. All traffic please clear the lane."_

Around the roar of the bikes, the sky began to dim from the yellowish darkness of night, to something colder and more sinister. Becky gave a shriek in Judy's ear as giant eyes blinked into existence in the sky, gazing down at the field with sinister, blood red malevolence.

"This doesn't look like Speed World!" Judy accused her opponent. Peering down at the screen, she found the unfamiliar card in play. "Speed World: Underworld." Her eyes narrowed in sudden understanding - there was definitely more at play here than she had thought. "I see. You don't think you can win without godly intervention, so Lolth's giving you a hand...or eight?"

"I can win and I will!" Mora was already drawing her cards. It could have been her imagination, but Judy did not think she was that thrilled to be under such a sinister and watchful gaze either. Over on the outside lane, a heavy goods vehicle honked obnoxiously at them, breaking Judy from her train of thought and returning her attention to her own opening hand.

"You can't just... _create_ your own cards!" Becky was shouting angrily.

"Honey, never tell gods they can't do something," Judy advised. "They just take it as a challenge."

 **Mora** : 8000 (SPC: 1)

 **Judy** : 8000 (SPC: 1)

"The first move is mine!" Mora announced, sounding as though she were trying to convince herself more than them. "I set these two cards, and summon Gravedigger Knight to the field."

Flashing in and out of the street lights, the monster materialised, in dark overalls, carrying a shovel in his belt like a rapier. His helmet sported a cracked spotlight, and the smell of dirt and decay left being in his wake made Judy's eyes water (1400/1100).

"I'll also activate Speed Spell: Ethereal Trail. I banish the top five cards from my deck in exchange I get three speed counters."

"Five cards for three speed counters?" Becky questioned behind Judy. "What the hell does this field spell do?"

"You're asking me?" Judy returned dryly, as Mora's speed counters ticked up, along with the number of banished cards. "Better be something good though."

"Hey hey! No backseat duelling!" Mora's voice interrupted furiously. Judy dragged her attention back to the track.

"Hey hey _hey_!" She retorted. "If you're allowed the psycho spider goddess from hell, I'm allowed Becky! Now are you done with your move or not?"

Becky muttered something about that not being a very fair trade, but Judy was more interested in the field, where Gravedigger Knight had started to furiously dig himself a hole in the middle of the road, vanishing down it like a filthier less friendly version of Bugs Bunny.

"Once per turn," Mora announced. "I can select a banished monster, and use Gravedigger Knight's effect to return it to the graveyard. And I choose Ambitious Arachne."

Ahead of her, her monster burst out of the road in a shower of tarmac, covered in more dirt than before, and wiping sweat from his brow. The light on his helmet flickered feebly a few times in the dark.

"My turn is over," Mora declared. Judy could not help but notice that she sounded almost detached. If the bikes had not been on autopilot, she would have been dubious of her opponent's ability to drive. Emily's unconscious, web wrapped body still lay prostrate over the back of the bike, and she hastily pushed those thoughts to the side. She was not letting Mora drive away with her best friend, godly intervention or no.

"Here we go then," she said, drawing her sixth card. Over her shoulder, she felt Becky peer at her hand. "I'll bring Nova Summoner to the field, in attack mode!"

The obscure looking fairy materialised in a flare of light above the bike, wings fluttering against the night (1400/800).

"Attack her Gravedigger!" Judy's voice was somewhat lost over the roar of the bikes (aided by the clattering from Mora's machine), but the fairy took off regardless. Light gathered in its center, even as the gravedigger pulled out its shovel once again and made a leap for the enemy. Both monsters slammed into one another, with energy searing through the sky, before it vanished, leaving nothing behind.

"...was that a miscalculation, or are you slower than I thought?" Mora demanded, apparently unfazed by the loss of her monster.

"Perfectly intentional," Judy replied. "With Nova Summoner's effect, I can summon a light fairy from my deck with fifteen hundred attack points or less. So Herald of Heaven, you're up!"

The new fairy materialised above them, moonlight giving the white robes and golden wings a soft glow (1500/1000). With a single beautiful note of song, it vanished once more into motes of light, and Judy returned the card to her hand.

"What are you doing?" Mora sounded suspicious, clearly remembering her previous match with the half dragon. "Bouncing your monsters around again."

"It kicked your ass last time, so don't knock it," Judy warned. "When Herald is special summoned, I can return it to my hand, and swap it for another fairy in my hand. I can't use my extra deck this turn, but that's fine by me." She set the card in her disk. "Darklord Asmodeus is up!"

Where the Herald had been a moment ago, the new fairy now materialised, it's dark wings almost lost in the blackness of the sky (3000/2500).

"Oh and it's still my battle phase," Judy reminded her. "So Darklord Asmodeus, teach her why we don't kidnap my friends! Attack!"

Her monster beat its wings once, seeming to vanish into the darkness of night. For a moment, the field was silent, before a twisting cone of energy wrapped around Mora's bike and burst around her. If she screamed, Judy did not hear it, as Darklord Asmodeus reappeared on her side of the field.

 **Mora** : 5000 (SPC: 5)

 **Judy** : 8000 (SPC: 2)

"Woo!" With her arms still around Judy's waist, Becky was applauding awkwardly into her lap. "Taste the payback, bitch!"

"Shut up, shut up, _shut up!_ "

Mora shook her head from side to side, as though trying to fight off the residue from the attack. One of her cards flipped up.

"Aww crap…" Judy muttered. So much for a clean first shot.

"Damage Gate activates when I take battle damage," Mora stated. "And brings Ambitious Arachne to the field from my graveyard."

The spider scuttled into view over Mora's D-Wheel, its gold and black hair zigzagging all over its body and down its thin legs (1300/1200).

"Hey, my aunt has that tarantula!" Becky put in, conversationally. Judy tore her gaze from the field long enough to give her friend a very odd look.

"My spider's effect now allows me to add a spider monster from my deck to my hand," Mora interrupted. "I choose my Death's Head Spider!"

Judy rolled her eyes. "Fine! Another bug to squi-"

"I also activate my other facedown," Mora continued speaking as though Judy had not even begun. "Overwhelming Aura! Now I can special summon a level four monster from my hand - so I'll bring Death's Head Spider to the field!"

The trap flipped up, and another tarantula materialised on the field, this one with hair as black as night save for a smudge of red in the middle of its abdomen. As if to add another level of creepy to it, its head was also encased in a human skull, its chelicerae wriggling through a gap of broken teeth (1200/1200).

"Ugh, someone didn't do their research," Becky huffed. "Black Widows aren't tarantulas."

"Really?" Judy demanded. " _That's_ what you're focusing on?!"

Her eyes took a good long look at the two eight-legged monsters, and a shudder rippled through her.

"Oh and by the way," Mora's voice cut through the night. "If I have more monsters than you on the field, Overwhelming Aura sends one of yours back to your hand!"

The spider's tiny eyes seemed to glow menacingly through the night, power and fear emanating from their hairy bodies. Darklord Asmodeus took one proper look across the field and vanished in a whirl of black feathers back to Judy's hand.

"Wonderful," the teenager muttered, glaring at her terrified monster.

"And when I summon Death's Head Spider, I can send a level four or lower insect from my deck to the graveyard. I'll choose Hell Grub."

She shoved the card into her disk. "See? You're not the only one who can spam monsters, lizard!"

It took Judy a moment to realise what was wrong with Mora's statement - in spite of her words, there was no confidence in them whatsoever. What on earth was going on over there?

"Where is she getting all these cards from?!" Becky demanded.

"I told you," Judy sighed. "Gods take it as a challenge when you say they can't do stuff!"

"Are you finished?!" Mora barked. It took Judy a moment to remember that in spite of Mora's rapid fire succession of moves, it was still her turn.

"I'll set this," Judy announced, plugging one card into her disk. "Now I'm done."

"About time!" The drow snarled. "In my hand, I have a Hell Needle Caterpillar, and since I have two insects already on the field, I can special summon him."

The wriggling spiked grub materialised, its head also encased in a skull (300/600).

"Now I'll tune them all together," Mora continued. "And Synchro Summon Dark End Dragon!"

All three insects dissolved into motes of light, which merged together to form the huge lizard. It's tattered wings flapped as it kept pace with its duellist, both it's head and the mouth and eyes in its stomach glaring at the enemy with dark delight (2600/2100).

"Huh...not a giant spidey?" Becky sounded almost disappointed.

"Guess there wasn't one big enough," Judy shrugged. "Or Lolth ran out of ideas..."

"Hey!" Mora roared. "Some of these are real cards from my deck, you know!"

For the first time since they had hit the road, she sounded truly insulted. Judy snorted.

"No, I wouldn't know. In case it slipped your mind, I beat you in one turn last time!" Judy reminded, a smirk creeping over her face.

"Well it won't happen again!" Came the retort. "I still have a normal summon, so I'll bring another Death's Head Spider to the field!"

Another black tarantula appeared, wriggling its front legs at the field in anticipation.

"And with that, another of my insects goes to the graveyard," Mora reminded. "I choose Grave Maggot."

As the card slid from view, Judy turned her head toward her friend.

"Might want to hang on," she warned, and Becky's grip at her waist tightened.

"Dark End Dragon and Death's Head Spider," Mora called. "Attack her and shut her petty comments up!"

She was ready for the spider - the hairy beast launched itself between the two bikes and sank its wriggling fangs into Judy's arm. She yelped in pain, and batted it away even as the dragon loomed overhead. She realised that she wasn't ready for that, when the dragon roared and hot fog enveloped the bike. The air blistered at her skin, and only supreme stubbornness prevented her from letting go of the bike and screaming. Eventually the cloud dissipated, leaving Judy choking and wincing as she tried to move her arms.

 **Mora** : 5000 (SPC: 6)

 **Judy** : 4200 (SPC: 3)

"You okay?" She managed to wheeze in Becky's direction. Puffing windswept hair out of her face, her friend gave her an incredulous look.

"I should be asking you that!" She exclaimed.

"You won't be okay for long!" Mora shouted. "For now, I set one card and end my turn!"

"About time!" Judy muttered, coughing the last of the holographic fog from her throat, and drawing. Scowling at her hand, she selected two cards.

"I set a monster and one card facedown," she stated reluctantly.

She half expected Mora to break into villainous gloating, but nothing was forthcoming.

"I tribute my spider to summon Caius the Dark Monarch!"

"Really?" Judy drawled. "That's the second drow I've met tonight with that card. I'm starting to think individuality and creative thinking are at a premium in this community."

"Hey at least you got to duel one…" Becky muttered. "Mine wanted to stab me instead of duelling."

Judy was tempted to ask for the story, but now was really not the time, as Caius appeared above the opposite D-Wheel (2400/1000). The shadows seemed to twist out of the night, encasing Judy's facedown monster in blackness.

"Oh I don't think so!" Judy announced, pressing a button on her disk. "From my hand, I activate the effect of Herald of Orange Light - when a monster uses its effect, I can send my Herald and another fairy from my hand to the graveyard to negate the effect and destroy the monster. So sorry to disappoint, by my facedown monster isn't going anywhere!"

As she slid her Herald of Orange Light into the graveyard, Caius's shadows seemed to wrap again, twisting until they were surrounding him. He gave a roar of betrayal before vanishing into darkness.

"Hope you have a plan B, Mora!" Becky called.

"Shut it!" Mora snarled. "I activate my Dark End Dragon's effect - it gives up five hundred attack and defence points in exchange for sending a monster straight from your field to the graveyard!"

This time Judy was powerless to stop it, as the dragon wilted in the air (2100/1600) and black flames arched into life around her card. Gellenduo materialised for briefest moment, with an agonised cry, as the flames swallowed them up into nothing.

"...sorry I asked," Becky muttered.

"Attack with Venom Breath!"

Muttering something very offensive under her breath, Judy let out a shriek as the cloud of blackness enveloped her again, searing at her skin until she was sure there was nothing left.

 **Mora** : 5000 (SPC: 8)

 **Judy** : 2100 (SPC: 5)

"I activate Shock Draw!" Judy's lungs were straining for oxygen, but the card flipped up anyway. "For every thousand points of damage I just took, I draw once." He duel disk whirred, spitting out two cards, and she snatched them up. "Thanks, Mora! I might just have the hand I need to deal with you now!"

Mora gave a scream of frustration. Judy took that to mean that it was the end of her turn, and drew once more.

"I activate my facedown card - Call of the Haunted!"

A pillar of light pierced Judy's playing field from the air, nearly blinding Mora. When it had cleared, the drow shook her head in disbelief. "That card? But... _when?_ "

"Funny thing about effects with a discard cost, Mora. They're a really good way to get the monsters you want into the graveyard exactly when you want them. Darklord Asmodeus can't be special summoned from the graveyard, so bringing him back isn't an option… but bringing this fellow back is." Judy smiled as the Herald of Heaven spread its wings, taking flight alongside her speeding D-Wheel.

Mora pounded her D-Wheel's dash in frustration. "This isn't fair! Even after everything you're still-" her voice caught in her throat.

"Is someone still a bit sore about losing?" Becky called from the back of the D-Wheel.

"You don't understand! You can't understand!"

Ignoring Mora, Judy gestured to her monster. "I don't think I should need to say it again, but when I special summon Herald of Heaven I can use her effect to return her to my hand. In exchange, I can take any fairy type monster from my hand and special summon it to the field."

The Herald clasped its hands, as if in prayer, and sang out a long, clear note before vanishing into a pillar of light. The light faded, revealing a stately, powerful form. The Darklord's head seemed to incline towards Dark End Dragon in a gesture of contempt. "I hope you didn't forget the Darklord Asmodeus you returned to my hand earlier, did you?" Judy asked as her monster struck a dramatic pose, revealing its full wingspan. (3000/1800)

Mora turned her head away, grunting something inaudible.

"This time you don't have any spiders to try to scare him away with, either." Judy fitted a new card into her duel disk. "I activate Speed Spell, Angel Baton! With this card I can draw two cards from my deck and discard one, as long as I have two or more speed counters. Unfortunately for everything else Lolth is capable of, your field spell hasn't stopped me from getting that at least." Snapping up two cards from her deck, she slipped one into her graveyard slot, pausing just long enough for Mora to see what it was.

"Not again!"

"Herald of Heaven can't do her thing in my hand, so I built plenty of ways to put her somewhere else into this deck. Because unlike you, Mora, I actually had to _work_ to put this thing together, and go out of my way to study strategies and experiment! I don't have an eight-legged death goddess to fall back on when I start losing!"

"This isn't about Lolth!" Mora snapped. "Shut the hell up! You don't know what it's like to be chosen!"

Judy hesitated. Was she imagining things, or was that a note of panic in the drow's voice?

"Judy, focus!"

She shook her head. Becky was right. Now wasn't the time to hesitate. "I summon Majestic Mech- Senku to the field!" Judy declared, a sky-blue creature which appeared to be made from machine-line pieces held together by an angelic aura materializing beside Asmodeus. (1000/500) "And I'm declaring battle! Asmodeus, attack Dark End Dragon with Fallen Palm!"

The attack name may have sounded odd at first, but became apparent as Asmodeus raised his hands, clasped them together, and focused. A bright blue aura surrounded them, and in an instant the Darklord had rushed forward and grabbed Dark End Dragon's head with one massive hand. The aura burst, sending a powerful shock through the demonic creature's body.

"And now, _heat end!"_

As Dark End Dragon exploded, Becky managed to give Judy a sidelong glance. "What was that you just said?"

"Show that aired back when my Dad was little about giant robots. Couldn't resist."

"You're having _entirely_ too much fun," Mora growled as she regained control of her D-wheel, the shock from the attack having barely sent it off-center. "How can you even be enjoying yourself at a time like this?"

 **Mora** : 4600 (SPC: 9)

 **Judy** : 2100 (SPC: 6)

"To be honest, I'm really not sure myself!" Judy gunned the bike's throttle, increasing her speed to the maximum the D-Wheel would allow with her current speed count. "I've spent most of today crawling through hell and back to make sure your petty little revenge ploy for losing a game in public doesn't get my best friends hurt. But you know what else? I'm also a Shadowchaser _and_ I'm a duelist, and right now I'm about to save my best friend by beating you _and_ your goddess at the same time. If I didn't have at least a little bit of fun with that, I think Emily would have slapped me!" She pointed to the fleeing drow. "Senku, attack her directly!"

This time, with no monster to absorb the impact, Mora was forced to accept the full shock. Her D-Wheel's tires screeched as it barely moved out of the way in time to avoid Senku's full-body charge, and even then stray bolts of electricity lanced from the creature's body onto her control panel.

 **Mora:** 3600 (SPC: 9)

 **Judy:** 2100 (SPC: 6)

"Senku's effect lets me draw a card when it deals damage to the opponent." Judy examined the card briefly. "And I'll set this, ending my turn. And if you were thinking of dealing damage to me by picking on Senku, you've got another thing coming. Thanks to his effect, he's automatically sent to the graveyard as soon as my turn is over!" The angelic mech shone brightly for a moment before exploding into gentle sparkles of light.

Mora said nothing. Her face was clenched, as in pain. Then her eyes opened, and a voice that was tinged with more fear and desperation than Judy had ever considered her opponent capable of said "I draw."

Becky coughed. "...Judy, didn't you just get done telling me earlier that gods take things as a challenge sometimes?"

"Yes, why?"

"I think that spider god thing just did."

Mora's D-Wheel began to hum with an almost unearthly aura as she gestured to her last set card. "I activate Rite of Hellspawn!"

The ground cracked. Mora's D-Wheel seemed to pulse, and strange, unearthly screams filled the air. The drow screamed as her body was wracked with pain. Judy swore for a moment she could see the shadow of some kind of great, eight-legged _thing_ burrowing itself into Mora's body for a moment, but then the illusion was gone.

 **Mora:** 2100 (SPC: 10)

 **Judy:** 2100 (SPC: 7)

"She just slashed her own life points!" Becky gasped. "This late into the game?"

"You two don't understand what it's like when your goddess _won't let you lose!_ " Mora screamed, her voice almost strangled. "Rite of Hellspawn lets me trade the life points I just paid for the ability to raise level four or lower insect type monsters from my graveyard. The number I bring back is equal to the difference between our speed counters!"

Something clicked. "That first speed spell you activated-"

"Was all for this!" Mora was beginning to smile now as the pain subsided. "You've put me through hell, lizard, but at least now I get the satisfaction of dishing out _every bit of that pain_ on you! I special summon Ambitious Arachne, Grave Maggot, and Hell Grub back to the field!"

The ground burst, and writhing creatures leapt from the cracks in the roadway. Judy swerved, barely avoiding the treacherous terrain as she advanced. Ambitious Arachne and Hell Grub seemed no less imposing or disgusting than when they had first been summoned, but now they were joined by a new creature - a squirming, white-skinned thing with two pinprick black eyes and a mouth of seemingly endless rows of teeth. (0/0) (0/0) (0/0)

"They all came back with zero attack points," Becky noticed. Then she pointed to the white one. "Hold on, where did ugly there come from?"

"Earlier. It was the monster she used Death's Head Spider to put into the graveyard before." Judy tightened her grip on the D-wheel's handlebars. "Brace yourself, Becky, I have a very bad feeling about this!"

"Ambitious Arachne's effect activates. Since it was summoned, I can add a level four or lower insect-type monster to my hand. I choose Death's Head Spider!" Mora's duel disk appeared to sprout several spider-like limbs which manually rifled through her deck for her before selecting the card in question. She grabbed it without hesitation. "Grave Maggot has an effect that activates as well. If I special summon it to the field from the graveyard, I can tribute it to special summon an insect-type monster from my deck. So go on, you squirming little bug! Grow up into something useful!"

The Grave Maggot uttered an ear-piercing shriek before its body burst into shreds, revealing what had apparently been waiting inside all along- a monstrous, hundred-legged thing with wide, vicious mandibles. Its serpentine body crashed onto the ground and it scurried alongside Mora, looking a bit like some kind of demonic freight train. "This is my Hell Centipede!" (2600/1300)

Judy grimaced. "I'd say the worst is over, but I know you haven't normal summoned yet."

"Very perceptive. But that won't save you!" Mora slammed her next monster onto her duel disk, not bothering to place the card with any care. Her movements seemed manic and desperate, and if her bike hadn't defaulted to autopilot it was very likely it would have crashed by now. "I summon Death's Head Spider to the field, using its effect to send one more Grave Maggot from my deck to the graveyard!"

Becky frowned as the two tarantulas stood together, flanking the very hungry-looking Hell Grub. "I seem to remember something unpleasant happening the last time these three were together."

Mora's grin was lopsided and more an expression of desperation than happiness. "Level two, Hell Grub! Level three Death's Head Spider and Ambitious Arachne! _Tuning!_ "

The three monsters vanished once more, their energy morphing into a cocoon of solid web, from which something inside flexed before tearing free of the delicate strands. Towering over the motorway, the spider flexed its legs every which way, its chelicerae wriggling in delight. Unlike the last spiders, there was nothing streamlined about this one, it's abdomen and cephalothorax bulging almost grotesquely, its entire body covered in short dark brown hair tipped in a shade of gold. As it stared out across the field, its black eyes were endlessly dark. "Devour it all, Nightmare Weaver!" (2500/2000)

Judy swallowed fearfully. "Your aunt doesn't have one of those, does she?"

"Uh...no," Becky reported, almost faintly.

"Good."

"...though not for lack of trying."

Judy resisted the urge to bang her head into the display of her vehicle.

Mora's expression twisted from confidence to horror to incredulity. " _Even now?_ "

"The first thing you learn as a Shadowchasers is how to deal with a losing situation. Unlike you, we're not allowed to just kidnap people for no bloody reason, drag them into hell, and pretend like that is a justified response to _losing a duel in public_ , which everybody does at some point in their life." Judy smiled up at the nightmare creature in front of her. "...Besides, I have to admit, it's moments like these that remind me why so many of us turn into adrenaline freaks."

"You're all insane!" Mora snapped.

Becky burst out laughing.

"You… you... " The drow screamed, bashing her head into her D-Wheel's controls hard enough to leave a mark. "Why? Why? _Why can't you just let me have this?_ "

Judy's cheerful expression faded. If it hadn't been obvious before, it was now. "What are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. As long as I've got this card out, they're going to lose. Right?" Mora seemed to be talking to herself - or, Judy considered, someone who no-one but the drow could see or hear. "Nightmare Weaver can stop her card effects from triggering when an insect attacks, so between her and Hell Centipede it's more than enough to win. And I still have _that._ So it's okay, right?"

"Which of us is insane, now?" Becky asked, watching as Mora went to pieces.

"I'm worried." Judy glanced at her facedown card, steeling herself.

"Why? She's loony as hell but I know how Asmodeus works. Even if she could get rid of him now - and she can't - doesn't he give you those two tokens to protect us?"

"That's if I destroy him." Mora had recovered from her reverie. "But it just so happens that _my_ ace monster has a way around that. Speed Spell - Underworld's effect activates!"

The entire track seemed to shudder. Judy closed her eyes and clenched her teeth as she felt a crawling sensation all along her body, as if hundreds of tiny creatures were swarming over and around her.

Mora's D-Wheel screeched as it slowed dramatically, falling far behind Judy. "By giving up ten speed counters and revealing a speed spell from my hand, I can raise a monster from the dead. Remember this guy?" She waved the card in the air, teasing Judy with its image.

"Dark End Dragon!" Becky gasped.

"I was afraid of that," Judy muttered.

"As you should be!" Mora crowed. Black smoke and dark flames belched from the roadway as Dark End Dragon returned to life - a piece at a time. First its skeleton knit itself together, then muscles and sinews, and finally flesh and scales. The creature roared triumphantly, licking its lips as it advanced on Asmodeus. (2600/2100) "Dark End Dragon's effect! Once per turn, I can lower his attack points and defense points by five hundred. In exchange, a monster is sent straight to the graveyard - without _ever being destroyed!_ "

Judy braced herself as the cavernous mouth on Dark End Dragon's stomach gaped open, releasing a noxious wave of choking black smog. Asmodeus retched, fell to its knees, and finally succumbed as it was completely swallowed by the toxic air. When the cloud had cleared, only a few feathers and a tarnished piece of armor remained before crumbling to dust.

Becky broke the silence. "Well, that's not ominous."

Mora's eyes shone with anticipation. "It's over now! Battle time! Nightmare Weaver, attack-"

A column of seven colored light erupted high into the air, then settled around Judy's body. Mora's mouth hung open for a moment, then snapped closed. " _What the hell?_ "

Judy smiled innocently. "I admit, if I were scared enough of other duelists to rely on cards like Mirror Force to deal with enemy monsters, I think that would have done me in. But you underestimated me, Mora. You and Lolth both!" She gestured to the trap card she had just flipped over. "Rainbow Life can be played at any time by discarding a card from my hand. Until the end of this turn, anytime I would take damage I gain that many life points instead. And since I can use it whenever I want, all I had to do was flip it over _before_ Nightmare Weaver attacked. You just spent that whole turn building up to _nothing!_ "

Mora's face turned pale. Her hands shook. "I- I-"

"Without any speed counters, you can't play that Speed Spell you just turned around either. Which is actually a pity because it's the only card you have left, and that means you're out of moves. But before you end your turn, I have one more." Judy tapped her graveyard slot. "Come on out, Messenger of Heaven!'

The sound of a flute filled the air, and a child-like angel crowned with a gold circlet materialized next to Judy in spectral form. She laughed, dancing about and clapping her hands in joy, before vanishing. "During the end phase of a turn Messenger of Heaven was sent to my graveyard, I can banish her to put a level seven or higher fairy-type monster on top of my deck. I choose Athena."

Mora made a sound halfway between a gasp and a strangled cough of disbelief.

"That's what I thought you'd say. My turn, draw!" Judy couldn't help laughing in delight as she revealed her card. "Oh hey, what do you know?"

Her final trap card flipped face up, practically of its own accord. Shafts of bright light descended from the sky, and Mora's three monsters shied away from their brilliance. "Heaven's Call allows me to reveal a level seven or higher fairy-type monster in my hand. If I do, I get to summon any level four or lower fairy-type monster back to my field in defense position. For the rest of this turn, I can only summon fairy-types." A trumpeting noise filled the air.

Mora closed her eyes. "...of course"

The Herald of Heaven raised her trumpet to her lips, sending out one pure note as she ascended into the air one last time. Judy placed her new fairy-type onto her duel disk right away. "Let's go, Athena!" (2600/800)

The armored goddess raised her spear, then leveled it at Dark End Dragon, Nightmare Weaver, and Hell Centipede, each in turn.

Mora breathed out slowly. "If that's all you have, then-"

"I never said that." Judy smiled sweetly. "I've been doing a lot of special summoning her so far, but Herald of Heaven can be normal summoned too!" The angel spread her wings as she swooped down once again, alongside Athena. "And while I can't use her effect this way, Athena certainly can. Since a fairy-type monster was special summoned, I can deal six hundred points of direct damage to you. _Victory Shout!_ "

Athena slammed her spear against her shield. A pure note resounded across the battlefield, causing Mora to cry out in pain.

 **Mora:** 1500 (1 SPC)

 **Judy:** 2100 (9 SPC)

Athena smiled at the Herald, then raised her spear. Dutifully, the angel clasped her hands before fading into gentle rays of light. "Athena's second effect lets me send one fairy-type I control to the graveyard, and special summon another one from the graveyard to the field. Unfortunately Asmodeus can't come back, but I do know someone who can!" The wreath of light Judy had summoned at the start of the duel shone proudly as it returned. (1400/1000) "And of course, Nova Summoner is also a fairy type. Athena, one more time!"

Mora's response to this shout was fainter, and more resigned. She seemed to be hundreds of miles away as the wave from the attack hit.

 **Mora:** 900 (1 SPC)

 **Judy:** 2100 (9 SPC)

"Um, Judy? I might be doing my math wrong, but that's still not quite enough damage to - Judy?" Becky looked up at her friend, and recoiled slightly as she saw a determined smirk on the half-dragon's face. "Please don't tell me you're planning on-"

"Hold on tight, Becky. Battle!" Judy pointed forward. "Nova Summoner, attack Dark End Dragon!"

The strange fairy gleamed with energy as it rushed forward like a sentient comet. Dark End Dragon's second mouth gaped open to receive it and clamped down. There was a rough, crunching noise as it snapped the fairy into bits, pulverizing it without a struggle.

Judy held tight to her bike as the impact shook her, but her good humor didn't break.

 **Judy:** 1400 (9 SPC)

 **Mora:** 900 (1 SPC)

"When Nova Summoner is destroyed in battle, I can special summon a fairy-type monster with less than fifteen-hundred attack points to the field from my deck. And I know just the one!" Judy smiled as she placed her next card on the duel disk. "Meet Sonata, the Melodious Diva!"

For the first time since Judy's turn had began, Mora's expression changed from despair to something else. "You summon what the _what?_ "

Becky, too, was confused. "Wait - not another Nova Summoner? I thought you were going to use Athena's effect to win!"

Judy's new monster was an elfin, blue-haired female angel, whose clear voice resounded above the noise of both motorbikes as she plucked at a golden harp. Athena smiled, enjoying the music, before striking her shield once more as her effect activated.

 **Mora:** 300 LP (1 SPC)

 **Judy:** 1400 (9 SPC)

"I _could_ have done that," Judy admitted. "That might be the safe option, to be honest. But I did say that I was going to beat Mora _and_ her god this turn. The one thing more dangerous than challenging a god is saying that you're going to beat one and not doing it. So we're winning by going straight through that thing!" She pointed upwards at the crawling mass that was Nightmare Weaver. "Sonata's effect activates. If she was special summoned, then all fairy-type monsters on the field gain five hundred attack points for as long as she sticks around!"

Sonata's clear voice trilled out an aria that seemed wildly out of place for the battlefield she had been summoned to. Athena seemed to glow even brighter than before, as she hefted her spear for battle. (3100/800)

"It's over, Mora!' Judy shouted. "Battle! Athena, attack Nightmare Weaver with _Shining Victory!_ "

The goddess didn't hesitate. Without giving Mora, her monsters, or even Judy any further time to brave themselves she had crossed the distance between herself and the enemy and raised her spear high. With a loud cry she hurled it. The weapon transmuted itself mid-flight into a ray of shining light that pierced through the great spider's abdomen and tore straight through to the opposite side. Despite its lack of vocal cords, Nightmare Weaver began to _scream_ as the light took its body to pieces, burning it from the inside out until there was nothing left.

Then, all hell broke loose.

 **Mora:** 0 (1 SPC)

 **Judy:** 1400 (9 SPC)

Something had finally given inside the bike, and Mora's steering went wild as the back tire seemed to collapse in on itself. Suddenly unbalanced, the vehicle swerved deeply, throwing its two passengers off onto the tarmac, as it skidded on its side into the barrier, where it burst into a ball of flames.

"Oh fu-"

Judy cut Becky's curse short. Unable to break in time, she whirled and pushed hard, shoving herself and her companion off the bike as it careened towards the wreckage of their opponent. The impact of the road into her side blew all the air from Judy's lungs, and silenced her scream as tarmac tore through her jeans and jacket and bit hotly at her skin. Just when she thought it would shred her down to the bone, she skidded to a halt, every inch of her body tender and bleeding. She lay there, dazed, and in pain, but alive, as the two damaged bikes burned merrily away nearby.

She barely registered the footsteps stumbling towards her, before hands were seizing her by the throat and squeezing with fury. Still winded, Judy's already bruised neck screamed with fresh pain, and she clawed urgently at the hands. Her fingers slipped over fresh blood.

"Stop squirming," Mora's voice was raw, and desperation danced in her eyes as she squeezed at Judy's neck. Her knife was clenched in her right hand, and Judy tried to swing for her face. She frantically batted her feeble strike away, flames flickering off the blade. "I have to do this! I have to make it stop!"

There was a loud, hollow clang, and Mora seemed to still, the madness in her eyes dimming to an ember before they rolled back into her head and she slumped heavily into Judy's body. Clutching a heavy-looking piece of pipe from the wreckage, Becky let her arms drop heavily to her side. The entire right side of her body looked as though it had been through a shredder, but the helmet seemed to have saved her head from any damage.

"Take that, you crazy bitch!"

She collapsed weakly onto the tarmac. Slumping in relief, Judy breathed deeply and ran her hands tenderly over her throat to make sure that the fingers were gone. Only deep bruising was left.

"You okay?" Her voice was hoarse. Becky nodded.

"You?"

"Mhmm…" Carefully, Judy tried to rise from the prone position. Her arms and legs were skinned raw - in fact there was probably more tarmac embedded into her skin than there was left on the road - and her ribs ached where she had landed. But her legs worked fine, and with a growl of pain, she pulled herself over to Mora.

"Erm...did I kill her?" Becky asked, chewing her lip.

"No," Judy shook her head, and then thought better of it, as her neck and face objected to the movement. "Just out cold. Lemme restrain her. You see to Em."

"Oh yeah!" thrusting the pipe away from her, as though it were carrying something infectious, Becky scrambled to her feet and began to limp over to the wreckage, where Emily lay some five meters away, still neatly wrapped in her cocoon. Sirens were blaring in the distance, and Judy felt the last of her fight drain out of her. Not caring for elegance, she slumped over Mora in something resembling a bear hug, and closed her eyes.

"Think I'll skip homework tomorrow…" she declared. Some distance away, Becky choked back a laugh, as the first grumble of bikes zoomed up the road, and pulled to a stop alongside the accident. Judy vaguely recognised the D-Wheels - all of them were registered with the London Shadowchasers.

"Judy?" Jalal sounded simultaneously anxious and relieved. The sound made her smile.

"Hi Jalal," not bothering to get up Judy raised a hand in a weak wave, before glancing down at Mora as the drow began to groan back into life. "Do you want this? Be careful - she's a bit stabby."

Becky's laughter was loud and just a little bit hysterical. But it was there. And Judy smiled at the sound of it.

 _Ha. Achievement get._ She thought smugly to herself. _Shadowchaser recruited._

OOO

 _6 Months Later_

Judy stepped away from the reception desk, the thick, A4 envelope clutched in both hands. In spite of the confidence she had felt all summer, her heart was beating very hard in her chest. She had thought that she would take comfort from knowing that all over the UK, thousands of other people were in the same position. She had been wrong. If anything, that made it worse.

Not wanting to dawdle, she headed for the exit. In spite of the importance of today, only she and a couple of other students had actually made the trek down to the school to pick up the envelope by hand. Everyone else had jetted off to all four corners of the globe with their obscenely rich parents for the summer holidays, and would be getting their news by post in a couple of days. She had no friends here to offer support and hugs to.

But she did know somewhere that did have friends.

Leaving the building behind her, she found a quiet street, and quickly concentrated on willing a portal into existence. Not difficult magic by any means, but she had not been doing it for very long, and long distances were definitely not an option yet. But that was okay. She did not need to go far.

She emerged in the back of the teacher's car park, behind a red Vauxhall Astra. Checking that nobody was around to see her, she closed the portal and headed for the sounds of frightened students coming from inside. She had been to Emily's school before, and knew vaguely where she was going.

Unlike her boarding school, the comprehensive was packed with students, all gathered in the main hall. Three tables had been set up at one end, with stacks of envelopes ordered by surname, being presided over by teachers, who were doing their best to control the queues of nervous students. All over the place, people were shouting to each other, and elbowing their way through the crowds to join the anxious knots of friends, who were already tearing into their envelopes. Judy's felt heavy in her own hands.

"Hey, there you are!"

Relief washed over her as Becky approached, a nervous smile on her own face. She had already retrieved her envelope, and she tucked it under one arm so that she could give Judy a hug. Judy was not sure who's benefit it was for, but she appreciated it from her friend all the same.

"You haven't opened it yet?" Becky checked. Judy shook her head.

"Would you think less of me, if I admitted that I'm nervous?" The half dragon asked. Becky snorted.

"No, I'd mark you as eminently sane." She linked arms with her. "C'mon. The others are waiting over there."

 _Over there_ , was a corner by the stage, where Miki and Mike were already turning their own envelopes over carefully as though they contained time bombs. Judy was greeted by another pair of nervous smiles as she approached.

"The hour of reckoning draws near," Mike declared ominously.

"Well technically since the results were available from ten, the hour came and went seven minutes ago," Miki corrected. "We're just waiting for the slowpokes."

She nodded pointedly to the A - G queue, where Emily was five people from the front. Far from looking nervous, she was scowling at the blonde girl at the front of the line, who was accepting her envelope with a smug expression.

"Oh hell," Judy muttered, knowing that expression well. "What did Natalie do to piss her off?"

"Elbowed her out of the queue," Becky said, sympathetically. "I was already at the front, otherwise I'd have lamped her, smug little cow."

"Who are we lamping now?" Anna approached the group with a swing to her arms. Alone of almost everyone in the room, she seemed completely relaxed, though a sour look crossed her face as she realised who her friends were glaring at. "Oh Natalie. At least you guys won't have to deal with her after today. Mike and I will have that dubious honour."

Judy chuckled as Miki gave them both solemn looks, and a bracing pat on the shoulder. Alone of their friends, Anna and Mike were not staying on for A-Levels, and were instead heading to the further education college to do NVQs.

"I might be joining you, if my grades aren't up to scratch," Becky pointed out, worrying the pendant of her necklace.

"If you say that one more time, _I'm_ going to lamp you," Anna threatened. "You will be _fine_. Relax, for heaven's sake - it's not that big a deal."

"...no, just our future academic prospects that will determine the rest of our life." Miki put in. She used her envelope to shield herself from the glares.

"Finally! Jeeze!" Emily made her presence known, elbowing her way through the other queues. Judy could not help but notice that she was pulling the Murder Captain America Walk off very well without even trying. As soon as she spotted Judy though, some of the impatience receded, and she flung her arms around her friend's neck dramatically.

"So glad you're here! Did you open yours already? Please tell me you did well?"

"Love you too, Em," Judy was relieved that at least one person in the room seemed to be more nervous than she was. Emily was practically shaking. "No I didn't open mine already. We were waiting for you."

Unlatching herself, Emily's face morphed back into a scowl. "Yeah well, that isn't my fault. Frigging Natalie, swinging her arse around into the queue like that..."

Her mumbled threats trailed off, as everyone realised that there was no reason to delay any longer. For a long moment, none of them moved, not wanting to be the first to break the spell.

 _"HE'S NOT THE MESSIAH, HE'S A VERY NAUGHTY BOY!"_

Judy felt colour rush to her face at her phone's ill-timed outburst, and everyone burst out laughing, the tension broken instantly. Through embarrassed chuckles, Judy checked the text message. It was Jalal, demanding to know if she had opened her damn envelope yet.

"Alright, come on then," Anna was still grinning. "Let's get this over with."

Everyone gave a mutter of concession, and ripped open the envelopes. Carefully, as though it might explode at any moment, Judy peeled back the flap, and extracted the thick certificates. There was a tight knot forming in her stomach, as she bypassed the covering letter and went straight for the first certificate.

 **AQA**

Biology (B)

Chemistry (B)

English Language (A)

English Literature (A)

Physics (A)

That was a good start. Scratch that - it was a brilliant start. She wasn't quite certain how she had managed to get an A in physics, but somehow she had. The knot was not going anywhere however - the next certificate contained the subjects that she had been most worried about.

 **OCR**

French (A)

German (A)

Latin (B)

Applied Business (BB)

She almost slumped to the floor in relief. Those were more that good enough to take her into A-Level. She was particularly pleased with her double B, as she had lost two weeks worth of business studies coursework to an infected harddrive, and had been forced to start from scratch.

She had a funny, floating feeling as she turned over to the final certificate, this one bearing her two remaining subjects.

 **Edexcel**

Maths (B)

Religious Studies (C)

She resisted the urge to cheer. Maths had been hard, and a B was more than she had hoped for. And she did not particularly care about RS - it had been compulsory and nobody in her class had wanted to be there. The knot in her stomach unraveled in relief.

By her side, Becky squeaked, and Judy jumped - she had almost forgotten that anybody else was in that hall but her.

"I'm in!" She squealed. "I'm in!" And she flung her arms around Emily and began to cheer. "I'm staying with you guys!"

"Oww my neck!" Emily protested, wriggling free. "Let me go, I'm still reading!"

She went back to scanning her own letters with an increasingly nervous expression. Flipping to the last page, she spluttered.

"I passed maths!" She burst out, pulling Judy close. "Look! Look at that pretty little C!"

She thrust the certificates into Judy's hands, and the half-dragon obligingly swapped. Emily had fared reasonably well, pulling off three A's in art and applied ICT, along with four B's, two C's and a D.

"Ooo my geography grade really hurts!" Mike was laughing in spite of himself.

"So did mine," Becky concluded. "D?"

"Yup."

"Same here. Don't really care." She held out her own certificates to Judy. In addition to geography, she also held another D in RS, a C in maths, an A for art, and B's everywhere else.

"Pretty good Becks," Judy nodded.

"Good enough for Shadowchasing?" The other girl asked quietly. Judy looked at her, before beaming.

"More than good enough!" She gave her a hug. "Don't worry about it. I told you, as long as you're not failing everything, we take you on."

Inside a part of her was celebrating at the thought of having a proper friend by her side in the future, and she squeezed the other girl around the waist before letting go.

"Okay most important question," Miki looked up from her own grades. "Did anyone fail the cores?"

Judy shook her head, and joined in the cheering, when she realised that everyone else was doing the same.

"That is such a relief!" The Japanese teen declared.

"What, that we can all function at a basic level of intelligence?" Mike asked. "Yes, I suppose that is reassuring!"

"Did anyone else bomb RS?" Anna asked. The replies were instant.

"Oh yeah."

"Totally bombed it."

"E over here."

"I got a C, is that a bomb?" Miki asked. She got a flat look from everybody.

"Considering we didn't hear a single word Miss Kendrick said to us over the noise the boys used to make, a C is like genius level," Emily declared, scanning down the page. "Which makes Judy a genius too."

The half dragon shrugged. "Teacher wasn't bad, but RS is boring."

There was a universal nod of agreement.

"Swapsies!" Emily declared, thrusting Judy's grades in Becky's direction, and taking Anna's from her. "Ha! Anna shall we go rub your double C in Mr Hill's face?"

"Nah, he's not worth it," Anna declared, taking Miki's grades and laughing. "Ah all my friends are geniuses. I declare myself the thicko of this group."

"You're not a total thicko," Emily objected. "Is that a C in French I spot down the bottom?"

Anna shrugged. "That's what happens when you go to an oral exam with tonsillitis, I guess."

"How did you wind up with twelve GCSEs, Judy?" Becky asked, re-counting all the subjects just to make sure she hadn't got confused. "We could only do ten."

"Public school," Emily droned, as though this answered everything. Judy rolled her eyes, and pointed.

"Because I didn't do applied science like you guys did - we had to take ours split. I also opted to take another elective."

They swapped papers another five times, giggling and commiserating all the while. Emily snapped a thousand photographs and uploaded them straight to facebook, while Judy replied to her own guardian, wondering if immortality protected Jalal from dying of curiosity.

"I'm going to Disneyland!" Emily singsonged, as they made their way out of the hall. "I think Harriet might have used Adrian's credit card to book it, but hell. What he doesn't know won't hurt him!"

Judy snorted as she pictured the look on the seventh Librarian's face when he noticed that little expense.

"Will you bring us back souvenirs?" Becky asked, with a winning smile.

"Yeah, keyring and a fridge magnet, got it," Emily said with a serious expression, that earned her a pair of swats from either side. Her giggles subsided instantly, and a frown crossed her face as they walked out of the door into the blazing sunlight.

"Hey Judy, isn't that the reporter who likes to follow Jalal around?" she clicked her fingers. "Nick...Dick...Crick! That's it!"

Sure enough, Judy followed her line of sight. There were three reporters stationed outside the building - two journalists with notepads, and another with a microphone. One of the notepad journalists was Crick, who was being engaged loudly in conversation by Natalie. Judy had to give him his due - he at least was smart enough to find the words coming out of her mouth dull.

"What's he doing here?" Becky demanded. "There's no Shadows at this school."

"I think he freelances on occasion," Judy remembered. "Mostly for the Mail."

"Ugh!" Emily wrinkled her nose. "I'm not going near him. I might catch fascism!"

Even as she spoke, the journalist's eye wandered past the other students, and landed on the door, where Judy, Emily and Becky had frozen. A pleased smile crossed his face, and he turned briskly away from Natalie and began to approach.

"Not freelancing," Becky concluded. "Definitely here for you, Judy."

The half dragon fought the urge to run. She would not surrender any dignity to the tabloids - Jalal managed to deal with them politely, and she would learn too. Emily however, had no such scruples, and smirked evilly.

"Want me to drop him down a portal?"

"No," Judy sighed heavily. "Then we'll have to go and fetch him later."

"Says who?" Emily asked indignantly. "Come on, one little portal - it'll barely hurt him!"

Judy gave Becky a long suffering look. "Do you have any ideas that don't involve bodily harm?"

A smirk spread across her friend's face. "Actually I do."

Pulling her hood over her head, Becky hunched her shoulders and adjusted her stance until she was walking with a purpose. Trotting to catch up, a grin of understand materialised at Judy's lips.

"Oh that is a good idea!" She beamed, her own walk gaining purpose as she fell into stride, both of them slowing down a touch to account for Emily's shorter legs. "Where are we off to, ladies?"

"To Murder Captain America!"

Feeling Emily and Becky bump shoulders with her as they strode past the potted geraniums, a frightened looking Natalie, and an intimidated Crick, Judy felt as though she could skip.

 _Watch out world. We'll be Shadowchasers soon enough!_

OOO

Lights out always came as a relief to Mora.

One by one, the voices from the other cells died down, as their occupants went to sleep, or settled quietly into a corner now that there was no ready source of entertainment. In the blackness, it was easier to pretend that there was nobody watching her. That nobody could see or suspect her of anything. She needed that more than ever tonight. Amile's trial had concluded today, which meant that only she and her mother were left.

Wrapping the blanket tighter around her, she curled up with her back against the wall. She had to sleep like this - nobody could sneak up on her that way. And they _would_ sneak up on her. One look - one proper look at her - was all it would take, and then they would all know. She was sure that her mother had suspicions, even caught as she was halfway between lucidity and her own little fractured mind. Panic crawled around her body and she glanced nervously through the bars of her cell. In the dim light, she could see the dull glow of her mother's eyes, searching through the darkness for something only she could discern.

She had no anxieties about what the end result of her trial might be. It was just an excuse to parade her around as a wrongdoer, so that they could feel righteous and important at having brought her in. She had no fear of prison or indeed death if it came to that - and it probably would come to that, with kidnapping and attempted murder being just a few of her charges. Her fear was deeper rooted than that, and infinitely worse.

She feared who might be watching.

 _They can't have it._ Her mind frantically clawed at that single thought in desperation. _It's mine. I have to keep it safe. I have to..._

Wrapping her arms around her body, she tucked her knees up against her chest as best she could, and closed her eyes. Worrying was exhausting, and in spite of her reluctance to drop her guard, she could feel her mind sluggishly shutting down. She would have to rest - just for a moment. It was too hard...everything was just too hard...

Her frantic breath gently evened out, and the trembling in her body calmed until she was still beneath her protective huddle of blankets. Her mind, almost pulled apart by stress and fear, settled into something that nearly resembled peace.

Sleep was dashed in that instant, as the voice materialised. Fittingly, it felt like a spider crawling across her brain.

 _Oh look at you, my juicy little priestess. Cocooned in your cell like prey. Not so intimidating now…_

Her heart banged painfully against her ribs like a fist against prison bars, and sickness tossed in her belly.

 _Your fear is delicious…and very flattering._ The voice tiptoed around her head, sending terrified shudders through her. _But come now. Did you think that a jail was an appropriate punishment for that little mess?_

She hadn't. She had known that all the time in the world would not save her from this. The Spider Demon had always been watching.

 _What's this_? Lolth whispered. _Tears from my priestess? Good. That is the least I expect. You know what I demand of those who fail...those who are an embarrassment to me._

She knew. She knew what fate awaited who had incurred the wrath of their goddess. A whimper escaped her throat, as those horrible words seemed to creep over her body, lightly scuttling down her back to curl around her belly. A new fear surged through her, and the plea burst out of her before she could stop it. _Please!_

Lolth's laugh was mocking through the clicks.

 _Begging? How low you have sunk in here..._

She was right, she thought bitterly. She did not even have her pride left. Not now that her goddess had come to collect her prize.

 _There is only one thing that I dislike more than weakness,_ the goddess sneered. _Do you know what that is, my little priestess? Have a guess..._

She did not have to guess. She knew. She screwed her eyes shut, and felt her body begin to tremble.

A noise jolted her against the wall, and her eyes snapped open. In the cell across the corridor, her mother was writhing in her own bed, as tendrils of spiders silk began to wrap around her body like silvery packing tape. Tumbling off her own mattress, Mora pressed against the bars of her cell, as the lights slammed on, and guards began racing towards the commotion. Maureen was gagging as more web crawled up her throat and spurted from her mouth, wrapping around her face. As the guards finally arrived, shouting for back up, the web seemed to dissolve into shadows, taking their wrapped prize with them. Only the scrambled blankets were left.

 _Sycophants,_ the goddess's voice had an air of disgust, which was quickly replaced by amusement, as Mora sank to her knees in a trembling heap. _Ah...you thought it would be you? Well that would be a shame. You see, I also dislike waste..._ that horrible touch was back at her belly. _And what a waste you would be, especially after taking such effort to conceal it all these months..._

Her little secret fluttered anxiously inside her, and Lolth chuckled.

 _But I can't just leave you both here. You turned your back on your people, and your goddess. You were nothing but a sickening coward, right when it mattered the most._

The creeping sensation vanished abruptly, and Mora came to her senses, vaguely aware that one of the guards was demanding answers of her...answers that she truthfully could not give. There was a cold crawling over her flesh that had nothing to do with the bare floor upon which she now sat, and as she curled up with her head resting against the bars of her cell, sobs shook through her body so hard she felt she might break bones.

The webs slid over her arms and legs in a cruel parody of an embrace. Distantly she registered one of the guards swearing, but they were meaningless to her as her fingers tore desperately at the bindings. They were undeterred, crawling over her body and seizing her limbs in a tight hold. Like clammy fingers they slithered around her neck and over her face.

 _Try not to struggle_ , the spider goddess said absently, as the threads crawled over her ears. _It will only hurt you both._

She had just enough time to scream, before the web grasped her completely, and dragged her down into the darkness.

OOO

 **A/N:** It ends! Someone pop the Champers!

Apologies for the delay, everyone. I could cite moving back to England, and reestablishing my life here as a reason, but the simple truth is that I hate writing duels. To that end, I owe a massive amount of thanks to Scarlet Weather who plotted this duel, put up with endless inane questions from me, and then proceeded to run away with the end of the match when I was struggling. A celebratory box of tea is on its way to you, my dear.

I also need to thank my fiance 7th Librarian, for helping with Mora and Maureen's fight when I got stuck, and prompting me to keep going with endless kisses. I'll be sure to return the favour, my love.

Though she'll never probably read this, I also need to thank my friend Steph The Queen of Spiders, who supplied me with endless info about the eight legged menaces in this story, and who's own fluffy babies provided much inspiration.

Finally thanks to CyberCommander, for letting me play in the sandbox. It was endless fun!

Will there be more from me? You'll all just have to wait and see!


End file.
